


It's Not What It Seems

by craftingpony



Category: Doctor Who, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Work
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Aliens, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Not a writer, OC, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, POV Original Character, Science Fiction, my first post
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-11
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-29 02:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6354355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/craftingpony/pseuds/craftingpony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After The Doctor (Nova) lost his dear companion, Constel, he has been in dire search of her for months. One day, the TARDIS starts shaking and soon lands in a familiar yet unfamiliar place....</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Not What It Seems

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm Craftingpony or Lisa is fine. My first story posted here! Hehe, well, this has a few mixed things in it. First thing to get out of the way: I'm not a writer. I write for the fun of it and for the sole purpose of story and character development. Second: This is a mixture of Doctor Who, MLP:FiM, and most of my original characters. Also, it's mostly dialogue for various reasons. It'll also get confusing along the way, for it wasn't made for public viewing and understanding.  
> If anyone is interested, read right ahead. Critique is allowed but note that I've already finished writing this story and am just posting it here. ;;u;;

**Respective Rights and Ideas go to Doctor Who created by Steven Moffat of BBC and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic created by Lauren Faust of Hasbro**  

  
I wake up, my head in immense pain just ringing. I'm about to call out for Constel but realized that she's not with me. I get a bit depressed but tried to stick to my surroundings. I place my hand on my head and felt something. I looked and it was blood. Great. I get a grip on the railings and pull myself up. I walk up to the console and noticed that we landed in Vynopille. I was a bit confused. I touched the console lightly, concerned.

  
"....Why did you crash so suddenly?...." I stood there for a minute pondering on what I just said, then headed out.

  
I'm greeted to the same town I've always been to. Nothing looks different but it gave off a strange feeling. I tried fixing up my clothes and hair before heading into town. Walking into town, nothing seems different. I had a few funny looks but I didn't pay much mind to it. 

  
Walking by, I noticed a familiar face. Looking at the hospital clinic, I see Astro, though, he looked different. Same dark blue hair with the light blue streaks on the ends and dark blue eyes but more...tired? I walked in. He glares at me for a second then scans me with his eyes like a hawk. He sits up and looks me straight in the eyes. From what I saw, they were cold and lifeless.  
  
"What do you want?" He didn't greet me like he usually does. He sounded annoyed.  
  
"Well hello to you too...." I mumbled and he seems to have heard me.  
  
"Hm?...." He made an irritated look.  
  
"Nothing but, Astro, I was just wondering–"  
  
"Huh. Do I know you? Cause I'm pretty sure we've never met." He interrupts me, his tone getting sharp.  
  
"I'm sorry, Astro, but we've–"  
  
"DON'T go using my name around so freely." He stands up, almost slamming his palm on the counter. "Now, what do you want before I kick you out myself."   
I hear the other patients and nurses whispering amongst each other. Is he usually this short tempered and threatening? Well, I shouldn't make a scene.  
  
"I-I'm sorry. I just...mistook you. Yes, mistook you for someone else. I'll take my leave." I walk out, taking one last glance at him. He sits back down and continues to do whatever he was doing.   
  
That was weird, dangerous almost. This is definitely not MY Vynopille and I can't help but get the feeling that things are very wrong here. I keep walking, my head just in thought. Suddenly, I accidentally bump into someone.  
"Oh, sorry–" I look at who I bumped into and was in immediate shock.  
  
"N-No, It's fine. I-I'm sorry for not p-paying attention in the first place..." She looks at the floor and all her books are scattered. "I-I'm sorry. I'll just, um....get out of your way."  
  
"Constel, is that you?..." I couldn't believe my eyes. It was Constel, but....she looked different. Blue and pink hair pulled up in a ponytail. White button up shirt and rectangular glasses on her face. Plaid skirt and grey sneakers. More...  
  
"How did you....know my name?..." She cautiously backs up. "I-I don't think we've....met before..."  
  
"Oh! Sorry, I was just.... I've heard about you from the towns people." I forgot. This may not be MY Constel. I shouldn't jump to conclusions so suddenly. "You just....reminded me of someone I know."  
  
"I-I see..." She kneels on the ground picking up her books.  
  
"Here, let me help you pick those up." I kneels down and pick up the rest with her.  
  
"Thanks..." There was an awkward silence for a moment. Finishing up, we both stand.  
  
"Where are you headed actually?"   
  
"T-The library..." She takes a step back, cautious of my sudden question.  
  
"Perfect! Is Miss Twilight in today?"   
  
"Y-Yes... Do you know Princess Twilight?..."  
  
"Well, technically, yes. We can talk about it as we're walking. Come on!" I turn, holding some of her books, and walk in the same direction she's going in. She stumbles a bit then catches up to my side.   
  
"Sir, w-where are you from? I don't think I've heard your a-accent from here before..." Ah, Constel. She's more curious in this world than in hers.  
  
"Yes, well, I am no ordinary person. I'm from far away, no need for details at the moment though." She seems more curious.  
  
"W-What's you name?..."  
  
"Nova. Nova is what some people call me. I go by something else though."  
  
"....Doctor...."   
  
"Wha...." I stop in my tracks and Constel looks at me, skeptical. Did she just...  
  
"...Y-You look like a doctor to me... D-Did I say something that offended you?..." She looks at me worried. I sighed and then smiled.  
  
"No no, that's completely fine." I reach my hand and pat her slightly for a second. "Don't be so tense. Come on, we're almost there." She blushes and then continues walking without saying a word.

  
\- - -

  
We reach Twilight's place. It's big and new so definitely a sight to see. We both head inside and I'm greeted by a soothing soft sunlight through the large glass roof window. It was very bright but it gave an ancient feel to it.   
"Well well well. Gotta give it to Twilight to take care of all these books..."  
  
"Y-Yeah! She's really amazing! A-And, she's read all of these books too!" Suddenly, Constel gleams with joy. The once shy and cautious person, just became as bright as the stars in the universe itself before my eyes. I sit down and watch her roam around the library. As much as I'd love to watch her all bright and curious looking, I had things to talk about with Twilight. Questions and such at least.  
  
After a while, I see Twilight come through the front door. She sees me and she gets serious.   
"Nova."  
  
"Twilight! Ah, someone who recognizes me!"   
  
"What brings you here? Did something happen?" Her expression softens and she puts her stuff down.  
  
"Ah, yes. Can we talk in private?" She seems concerned for a second.  
  
"Of course, Nova." She turns and spots Constel. "Constel! I'm gonna be a while with Nova so if you'd want! You can wait for me!" Her voice echoes the place and soon reaches Constel already on the second floor.  
  
"O-Of course, Princess!" She heads down one of the isles and disappears.   
  
"Well then. Shall we head into my room?" She gestures towards the farthest door to the right.  
  
"Certainly." We both head inside and we sit across from each other at the table.  
  
"So, Constel. She's an assistant?" I can't help but be curious myself personally.  
  
"Student. She's a really nice girl. She's really shy though but has a lot of potential."  
  
"I know...." I smile, feeling a bit gloomy. I still haven't found MY Constel yet...  
  
"Are you alright, Nova?..." She says looking my way concerned.  
  
"Oh, f-fine. I'm fine, Twilight." She looks at me unconvinced. "Anyways, I am here for a different reason."  
  
"Yes, what reason is that exactly?"  
  
"Well, first let me confirm myself. I am the Doctor. I am a Timelord. I travel through all of time and space in my Tardis. Tardis stands for 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'. And my current mission....is to find someone dear to me...."   
  
"I see..." Her expression remains unfazed by what I said. So she does know who I am. "Who is it that you're looking for?"  
  
"....My companion...." Her expression changed.  
  
"You lost your companion!? How do you even do that? That's not likely possible, even for you!"   
  
"I know.... It was during our last adventure....but I won't go into details now. I already tried to go back and find her but she wasn't there." I clench my fists then loosen them. "What I'm looking for now is information. That's all. And also something about your world too." She stays silent for a minute but came to a conclusion.  
  
"Well, I'm all ears then."   
  
"First, has there been anything weird going on around here? My landing was a not too pleasant one."  
  
"There hasn't been anything wrong around here. Though Turner..."She lowers her voice for the last bit but I managed to hear what she said.  
  
"Turner? As in Time Turner, Turner?"  
  
"Yes, Do you know Turner?"  
  
"Well, yes. We don't get along well but....our companions know each other pretty well. What's happened with him?" She hesitates for a moment.  
  
"W-Well...." I stare seriously at her. If I'm gonna figure out anything, Turner would be my most luckiest bet. "*sigh* Fine.... He's been...having some memory problems..."  
  
"Memory problems? Like what, exactly?"  
  
"Well, he has problems remembering certain things. Things that he said felt like they supposedly happened but in reality have not. I've tried talking to, um, Harmony about it but she said that she doesn't know anything about it."  
  
"Which means he hasn't told her...."  
  
"That's right..."  
  
"Hm... Are they here in town right now?"  
  
"Yes, they've been in town for a while. I think somewhere around Sugar Cube Corner."  
  
"Alright, thanks" I take a notebook out of my pocket and scribble down some notes. "Well, let's get back on the actual topic here. My second question. Can you give me some brief information on some people residing in this town?"  
  
"Of course, but only brief stuff. And please don't pry into it too much. I know Turner and you too tend to do something uncalled for." She straightens herself out. "What are the names of the people you need to know about?"  
  
"First Astro Galaxies. The one who works at the hospital clinic."  
  
"A-Astro..." She looks a bit taken back. "Well, he is awful tempered. Not friendly with the townspeople but gets the job done. Despite his gloomy and awful attitude, he's pretty good looking." She blushes a bit but doesn't change her expression.  
  
"First of all, you have bad taste in men, Twilight." Her face reddens.  
  
"Ahem. Thanks for your concern but I'm fine." She gives me a silent glare.  
  
"Aren't Astro and Constel related?"  
  
"What? Of course not. They don't even know each other. Of course, they've met before but nothing more than that."  
  
"I see... Sorry for the mistake then. Just something I heard." I scribble down some more notes. "Well, next person is Constel."  
  
"You're awfully attached to Constel. Do you guys kno–"  
  
"No. Don't worry about that. She reminds me of....someone I know..." We go silent for a moment. Twilight looks at me expecting an answer but gives up.  
  
"Well, I won't pry on it then. Constel is very shy, as I had said. The jumpy type so don't startle her in any way. As far as I know, she spends most of her time at school and here at the library. Very nice and keeps herself tidy. She's not one for crazy adventures, such as you, so don't try taking her as a companion." She waves her finger at me.  
  
"Well, I won't deny that but I have my own companion." I scribble some more notes. "One more person and I'll be out of your way."  
  
"Good, cause I'm running short on time. Constel is waiting for me after all." She reaches her arms to the air and stretches.  
  
"Yes, I know that. Last person I need is Harmony."  
  
"Harmony. I don't know much about her but she's very outgoing and friendly. She's bright but very reckless. I'm surprised she's Turner's companion. She's definitely close friends with Constel though."  
  
"I see... Thanks for the information, Twilight." I write down a few more notes before putting my notebook away. "Well, I won't be keeping you then. Give Constel my regards."  
  
"Of course." We both stand up and leave the room. I'm about to head out but Twilight calls out for me again. "I'll be seeing you around, right?"  
  
"Who knows." I call back at her, waving. I then leave the library.

  
\- - -

  
"Well, I still have enough time today so I'll go and see what's been going on with Turner." I head to where Twilight told me they would be at. Sugar Cube Corner. Heading there I laugh a bit at myself. "It's like I'm an undercover detective or something..... I wish Constel were here....MY Constel...." I start going off into thought but shake my head. Stop worrying about it now. You'll find her.   
  
As I'm walking around I managed to bump into Harmony. Perfect! She'll know where Turner is. I walk towards her.  
"Excuse me. Are you Miss Harmony Chaser I've heard so much about?" She looks at me in surprise then smiles.  
  
"In the flesh! I don't think I've seen you here before though."  
  
"Yes, well, I'm just visiting. Actually I'm looking for someone You might know of."  
  
"Hm, and who might that be, mysterious stranger?" She smiles, waiting for a response. She's awfully more cheery in this world...  
  
"I'm looking for Time Turner, or you could say...." I lean in and whisper in her ear. "....The Doctor...." She jumps back in surprise. I get a bit startled as well. People are starting to look. She grabs my tie and pulls me in close.  
  
"Y-Y-You know him!?" She quickly looks around and lowers her voice, not to make too much of a scene already. "Why do you need him?..."  
  
"I need to just talk to him. Catch up on a few things. We're acquaintances you could say..." She slowly nods. "I also...have a favor to ask of him..."  
  
"Alright. I'll bring you to him then." She sits back up and beams with a large smile. Geez, this world is exaggerating people's personalities too much.  
  
"Thanks, Harmony." I smile back awkwardly.

  
\- - -

  
After she finishes eating, she leads me to where Turner is. We go around Sugar Cube Corner and head down a maze-like area.   
"Be careful, you can get lost here." She says giving me a slight warning.  
  
"Thanks. Though, I don't think I've seen this part of Vynopille before." I get suspicious, looking around at my surroundings.  
  
"Yeah, well, this part of the area is specifically generated by the Tardis. It prevents people from finding the us."   
  
"Why go through all this effort? The Tardis is supposed to disguise itself as a Police Box." I take my notebook out of my pocket and write down what she told me.  
  
"Well, I ask myself the same thing. The Doctor just wants it this way really. He's pretty cautious y'know." Her expression isn't as bright as before but more serious. I write down some more notes.  
  
"I never would've thought of Turner being the cautious type."  
  
"Well, I think you may be a few months or years late, knowing the Doctor. I've never seen you before, and the Doctor's never talked about you before either. Maybe you met him from a different time period and he just forgot." We take another turn and she stops. "We're here." I look and it's definitely the Tardis. It's more run down than I had remembered.  
  
She unlocks the door and heads inside. I follow her in as well.  
"Doctor!! I brought someone who wants to see you!" I hear a few clanks from inside and then Turner comes out.  
  
"Harmony, I told you not to bring anyone to the Tardis. I put up the maze for a reaso–" He stops and looks at me. The first thing I noticed is that he more stressed out than usual. His hair is a mess, his clothes messed up, and there are bags under his eyes. He looks shocked, no, maybe terrified, to see me.  
  
"It's been a while, Turner... Or maybe, nice to meet you." I greet him and he almost loses his composure but manages to keep himself together.  
  
"Y-You're.... Nova...." He walks towards me with a serious look, acting like he wasn't stumbling at first. "You. You've been the one that's been messing inside of my head." He gives me a cold glare, one I'd never thought to see on him.  
  
"C-Calm down. I'm not doing anything. I only got here a few hours ago." He grabs a hold of my arm and pulls me abruptly.  
  
"Then explain to me, why my memories have been fluctuating for the past 4 months?! I am seeing things that I haven't even done before in my timeline but it feels like I have. And you are in them too, Doctor." I take a step back, getting a bit cautious. Harmony is also shocked at what's happening.  
  
"Doctor? Does that mean he's a Doctor too?! Another Timelord!?" Harmony starts beaming. "Isn't that great, Doctor! You're not the only Timelord left!" Me and Turner look at her a bit startled. Turner releases my arm and his expression softens.  
  
"...Yeah, Harmony...." He smiles. "That makes me feel a bit better." She smiles back.   
  
"I'll get you guys something to drink so you can chat and stuff!" She heads off in a hurry leaving us alone.   
  
"So, Nova, I believe your name was, why are you here now?" He sits down and I come up next to him.  
  
"Well, there is something wrong happening here in Vynopille."  
  
"What do you mean 'something wrong'? As far as I know everything's been normal." He didn't look convinced himself when he said that.  
  
"Well, there is definitely something, or else my Tardis wouldn't have almost crashed landing here."  
  
"Really? That is definitely weird."  
  
"Yeah. But aside from me, what are these weird 'memories' you've been having?" He get's a bit startled but then tells me.  
  
"They're of adventures. Adventures with you and our companions together. Of galaxies I've never explored with Harmony yet. And of other things. The people I know acting differently than in reality."  
  
"Can I give an example? Such as Harmony, having a more bright and reckless behavior."  
  
"....Exactly.... And I've been with Harmony for as long as I remember."  
  
"I see." I take my notebook out and write down some more notes. "Those memory fluctuations you've been having are probably memories of my world."  
  
Turner looks at me in surprise. "But, how can that be?"  
  
"I'm just as clueless as you are. But I have a theory. This world may have been altered somehow and everything is set differently than actual reality."   
  
He looked shocked. "You're saying that the world I'm living in now, is not the world I knew?"  
  
"Correct. The coordinates I put in were the ones I had for MY Vynopille. I was in search for–" I was about to say it but I stopped midway. Turner notices my hesitation in the sentence.  
  
"Searching for what?" He looks at me expecting an answer.  
  
"*sigh* I'm looking for my companion...."   
  
"Your companion?! How do you lose your companion?"  
  
"I know...." Turner looks worried and puts his hand on my shoulder.   
  
"Tell me what happened. It must've been rough, on your own I mean. Maybe this'll help with our situation."  
  
"How would it help?"  
  
"Well, you lost your companion 4 months ago, right?"  
  
How did he know? "Well, yeah–"  
  
"That's when my memories started fluctuating! It must have something to do with your companion's disappearance." It takes a while but I'm connecting it. I write it down on my notebook. "If I'm gonna help you, you need to give me some information on what happened." He had a point. If, somehow by any chance, that this is connected to Constel's disappearance, then I might be able to find her.  
  
"Alright. I'll tell you." I take a deep breath. "I should probably start from the very beginning of our adventure." My story started off in the bustling city of France...

  
\- - -

  
The sound of chattering in the distant. The smell of food in the air. The dim lights giving a nice mood. It was a beautiful night. Sitting in the corner of the restaurant, was Constel and I.  
  
"Doctor, I can't believe you did that." Constel was smiling and laughing.   
  
"O-Oi! Don't judge me! It was an accident. A-c-c-i-d-e-n-t! And quit laughing! It's not funny." Constel smiles, toning her laughing down a bit.  
  
"B-But Doctor. Queen Elisabeth? That's priceless." She laughs a bit more and I get a bit embarrassed.  
  
"Alright alright, you've had your laugh. How're you enjoying this lovely night?" I smile, tidying myself. She smiles back.  
  
"It's been great. Surprisingly, nothing's bad happened. I'm impressed."  
  
"Well, I am the Doctor after all." I slightly puff my chest out pridefully and she gives me an unconvinced smile.  
  
"Yeah, and trouble always comes when you're around. It's nice when you're not running away from something."  
  
"I agree for once. Oh, how're things with Harmony?" She goes off into thought for a moment.  
  
"Hm, well, I'm not exactly sure. She's always with Turner."  
  
"I see. Well, hopefully they haven't gotten into any serious trouble. That Turner can be so bloody reckless."   
  
Constel chuckles. "You two still don't get along?"   
  
"Of course not. He's too reckless! And I cannot imagine one of my next regenerations to be....ugh....him." I look away, pissed.  
  
"Ah, well don't worry. I promise not to let you regenerate again. Last time was, well, not so pleasant..." She looks down a bit, remembering something.  
  
"Sorry for bringing it up, Constel. I forget that I had regenerated." I reach and pat her head slightly for a second. "Don't worry about it."  
  
"T-Thanks, Doctor." She blushes for a second, feeling embarrassed. She also looks away for a second.  
  
Suddenly, there was screaming. We both get startled and look in the direction of the screams. Strange large eyeballed aliens came in sucking the life out of every color that come into their sight and reach.  
  
"See, Doctor!? I told you there's always trouble!" Constel says as she reaches and grabs my sleeve.  
  
"Yes yes, thanks for reminding me of my dangerous lifestyle. Now, shall we run?" Right as I said that, two of the eyeballed aliens spot us.  
  
"Let's." I grab her hand and we run out of the restaurant. They both started chasing after us.  
  
We were running down the street. The ground was wet from a previous rain shower. It was also dark too so there were a few times we've almost stumbled.  
"D-Doctor! What-what are they!?"   
  
"I'm-I'm not exactly sure! For now, let's get back to the Tardis!" She quickly nods and we continue running.  
  
We're nearing the Tardis and there are now multiple of those eyeball things coming after us. They're catching up and we're only a mere few feet away. I take my Sonic Screwdriver out and point it towards the Tardis. The doors open and we plunge our way inside and I immediately shut them. We're both on the floor trying to catch our breath.  
"*gasp* C-Constel...are you alright?..." She sits up from the floor, still trying to catch her breath.  
  
"F-Fine, Doctor.... Pheww, that was too close...." After a while she gets up and offers to help me up as well. I took her hand and she pulls me up.  
  
"Well....that was definitely something new you don't see every day..." I ponder. "Let's see what we have so far. These creatures. They were large eyeballs."  
  
"Yeah, very disgusting to say the very least..." She gags for a bit. "But they were attacking people, of course. What could they have wanted?"  
  
"That's exactly the question, Constel. They were feeding."  
  
"F-Feeding? Off what?"  
  
"It looks like they were feeding off the colors. Like how we perceive everything in color. We just look at something colorful and either feel pleasant from it, or thrown off by it." Constel nods, understanding the idea. "They must be color hungry, but to rampage on other people....it's pretty strange."  
  
"They might have an objective in mind. They maybe want to create something out of all those colors, or harvest them as a food source. Oh! We saw some of those creatures take the color out of people too, though what happened to them....I'm not sure myself." I smile, pleased.  
  
"That's my companion! Come on, they should be gone by now. We'll go and see where these so say 'victims' are."  
  
"R-Right. What should we call these creatures, Doctor."  
  
"Hm..." I scan through the facts and come up with a name for them. "Let's call them the Chromozens. Oh, hold on a tick!" I go down under the console and rummage through a box of items. "Aha! Found them." I go back up to the console and hand her a wrist device.  
  
"W-What's this?"  
  
"It's a duplicator. This'll help distract any of the Chromozens if we encounter any."   
  
"How does it work?" She looks at her wrist where the devices was attached on.  
  
"Well, right now, the underside of the device is scanning your dna. There's a button on top of the device that you can press and it'll project a duplicate 'you'. I have one myself, of course. Go ahead, try it out."  
  
"O-Ok." She presses the button and in front of her a duplicate Constel had appeared. "W-Wow! She looks almost exactly like me! Is it a hologram?"  
  
"Oh no, it's much more than that. She can move according to her own will, and she's also physical. This took a lot of effort to make but I never had the chance to use it. Though, the moment you touch them, they will soon disappear after you let go. Here let me show you." I walk up to the duplicate. "Hello, Constel."  
  
"H-Hello, Doctor." Constel was shocked. The duplicate not only looks like her, but can also respond as her.  
  
"Here, take my hand for a moment." She complies and holds his hand. "See, Constel. Physical. And then when I let go.." I let go and she starts to disappear, or so rather, break up into digital particles. She gave a smile before completely fading off. "I also installed a program where in their last moments, they will feel at ease and disappear with a smile. That way, everything's fine."  
  
"Wow, Doctor. That's....amazing!" Her eyes gleam and she smiles at me. I smile back.  
  
"Thanks, but it takes a few minutes to recharge so be careful." She looks at me concerned.  
  
"Why'd you make me use it if you knew that?"  
  
"Well, I wanted to show you how it worked. Plus, weren't you amazed at seeing yourself?"   
  
"Yeah, guilty as charged I guess." She smiles, embarrassingly.  
  
"Well then, now that we got our duplicators, let's head out."  
  
"O-Of course!"

  
-

  
We both head into town. The first thing we notice is that all the vibrant colors in the city were dull, to the point of it being black and white almost.   
"W-What happened here, Doctor? We were only gone for a few minutes...."  
  
"This seems very bad. There must've been hundreds, no, thousands of them... We've got to hurry."  
  
"O-Of course..."  
  
We both head into the city. There weren't any people around. Even when we went back to the restaurant, there wasn't a person to be found.   
"Doctor, did the Chromozens....take the people of the city?...."  
  
"I'm not sure...." Suddenly, we here a sound coming from the kitchen. "Constel."  
  
"I-I heard it, Doctor... Do you think it's a person or...." I notice her trembling a bit and I grab her hand.  
  
"Don't worry. We won't know if we don't check though. Stay close." I let go of her hand and she keeps close behind me. I approach the kitchen door and slowly open it. I see in the corner of the room was a civilian, or rather one of the restaurant waiters. He held his eyes shut and held out a large knife.  
"P-P-Please....no more...no more...." He was trembling in fear.  
  
"Oh no, we're not the monsters. Calm down, we're people. We're here to help." I held my voice calm and quite to reassure him that everything's alright.  
  
"D-Doctor, he looks...." She looks at him and notices something different about him. I notice it as well.  
  
"I know. He lost color..." She clenched my shirt tighter. She's afraid. "Don't worry, Constel."  
  
"Y-You..." He looks up and we meet his gaze. The first thing I notice is the lack of color in one of his eyes. "...came here to help?..." He lowers the knife. He seems a bit more calm.  
  
"Yes, now, are you alright? You were trembling." I approach slowly. He cautiously backs away for a moment.  
  
"D-D-Don't come near! You'll....get infected too...." I got intrigued by what he said.  
  
"W-What do you mean, 'infected'?" Constel this time asked a question and he seems more calm.  
  
"O-Oh, a girl..." He looked at her in awe for a moment then came back to reality. "U-Um...the infection is...what I have..." He rolls up his sleeves revealing a black and white splotch slowly crawling up his arm. His original color is disappearing and starts fading.   
  
"Oh Celestia.... That's..." Constel is in slight shock.   
  
"Heh, I know. Awful, isn't it?.... I'm lucky I wasn't taken away..." This intrigued me even more.  
  
"Tell us, what's your name first?" He looks at me for a bit then replies.  
  
"S-Script....Script Writer...."  
  
"Alright, Script, tell us everything you know." I approach closer and sit a few feet in front of him. He trembles a bit and doesn't say a word. I stare at him intently, waiting for an answer.  
  
Constel whispers in my ear. "L-Let me talk to him, Doctor. I think it'd be better if I did..." I sighed and nodded. She comes up next to me and talks to him.  
  
"Hey, Script. Don't worry, I won't do anything you feel would make you uncomfortable. My name's Constel. I travel with the Doctor, next to me. We only want to help. What happened to you, Script?" He looks at her and starts to calm down a little. Why is it always Constel? I don't think I look that scary...  
  
"W-Well, it was during the break in.... Those...monsters...came in sucking the life out of everyone. Everything became dull, people became weak and almost lifeless. I grabbed a knife and....one of them came in. It seemed as if...everyone else had....already disappeared.... I was the only one left....and with the monster too...." He stopped for a moment. Constel gave him a patient smile and he calms down some more. "....It looked me in the eyes.... I felt mesmerized, almost like....I was in a trance.... All I remember was a loud noise.... I soon snapped out of it, grabbed the knife from the floor, and sliced it....."  
  
"What happened then, Script?" Constel listens to every word he said and he looks completely calm.  
  
"I-It started bleeding.....color.... T-There are some spots in the kitchen with color..... That's what happened.... And the monster r-ran away...." Constel immediately grabbed his hand. Me and Script were shocked. "C-C-Constel, you can't–"  
  
"That must've been awful for you! Don't worry, the Doctor and I will figure something out." She held his hand up showing hers as well. She gave a calm smile. "See?  Nothing happened." He was in awe. I was surprised too. His hand started to gain some color as well.  
  
"Constel.... T-Thank you!" Script plunged towards Constel and hugged her.   
  
"S-Script?!" Constel was shocked.  
  
"Well, I think that's enough sappy stuff." I stood up, offering Constel my hand. Script, also, lets her go. Constel didn't take my hand but stands up on her own and fixes her clothes a bit.  
  
"S-Sorry about that.... Just....thank you..." He smiled.   
  
"Hm." I used the sonic screwdriver and scanned him. He kinda steps back in surprise. "It seems your so called 'infection' is slowing down. You should be fine for a few days, the latest. What will you do now, Script Writer?"   
  
"I-I'll shelter somewhere. Well, if there are still any m-monsters around..."   
  
"Well, we haven't seen any when we were looking around. I think you should be good." Constel made the point clear. There was no one around.  
  
"She's right. Although, I'd stay where you are. This restaurant seems like the most safest place at the moment. You have standby temporary weapons and a food supply." Constel laughs a bit. "O-Oi! This is serious. Why are you laughing?"  
  
"W-Well, you make it seem like a zombie apocalypse." She laughs some more, then Script joins in.  
  
"O-Oi, quit that! I'm just taking precautions. P-r-e-c-a-u-t-i-o-n-s. Constel, you should know that." I stare at her and she smiles, feeling a bit guilty.  
  
"I know I know but, Script." He looks at her. "You were laughing." He noticed and gets embarrassed immediately. His face turns bright red.  
  
"W-W-Well, um, I-I was...." She gives a patient smile.  
  
"That's good." I feel a bit tense so I cut in and end the talk time.  
  
"Well, we have to be going. It was nice to chat, Script. Be careful." I tilt my head at Constel towards the exit and start to leave.  
  
"Oh, um, bye, Script. Be careful too!" Constel then follows me right after.

  
-

  
We're still looking around the city, not finding a single person yet. We stop and take a rest after an hour of searching.  
"Why aren't there any signs of people in this city?!" I get frustrated. Constel gets a bit worried for me.  
  
"I-I'm not sure myself, Doctor. Maybe we're looking in the wrong places. Like, the Chromozens eat color, right? Well, maybe they would be somewhere with lots of vibrant colors." I sit up and felt better.  
  
"That's right, Constel! Oh, you are brilliant. Now, where in a city would there be really vibrant colors?" We both try and think of places with lots of colors. We both get stumped.  
  
"Well, I'm no city person so...I wouldn't really know..." Constel sighs.  
  
"Hm....I'm having trouble as well..." I sigh as well. "And besides, the whole city is already colorless except...." Shock came over both of us.  
  
"The restaraunt!" we both exclaim in unison.

  
-

  
We're both rushing to the restaurant. That's right, Script said the Chromozen was leaking color and it brought some color back to the restaurant. Which means, that's where they might be going to.   
  
We arrive at the restaurant only to see hundreds of Chromozens surround it.   
"Oh no...." We were too late.  
  
"Script no..." Constel was trembling. She was afraid.   
  
The Chromozens turned around, sensing we were there. I quietly whisper to Constel.  
"Run." She nods and we both turned and ran. The Chromozens started chasing after us too. We went down the same route we took, but they came through around the corner. We had to run in a different direction.   
  
"D-Doctor! We-We won't be able to outrun them any longer!" Constel calls from behind me.  
  
"I-I know. I'm figuring out which way to go!" She was right. They're gaining on us and we had to reach the Tardis fast. Constel run a bit faster, catching up to me.  
  
"D-Doctor!" We're heading close to a split path. "Split!" She bumps me over to the left and she ran right.  
  
"Constel?!" I couldn't turn around and chase after her. There were still Chromozens after me. I got worried and frustrated. I decided to use my duplicator and ran into an alleyway while the "me" duplicate kept running straight. I wasn't being chased anymore. I take a moment and catch my breath. "C-Constel.... I need to find her..." I got up and went in the direction of where Constel was headed.  
I'm looking and looking but I haven't seen any sight of her yet. I get restless, worried, anxious. Why can't I find her? Why is it so quiet? What if they took her already? What were they gonna do with her? Thoughts started flooding my mind. This wasn't good. This was very bad. If I can't find them anywhere then I'll have to go there myself. I go and find my Tardis, the only thing that can take me to her.  
  
As I'm running I see multiple figures heading the same direction I'm going in. It can't be, no, it is! "Constel!!" I call out her name, not caring if the Chromozens see me. She keeps running and turns her gaze towards me. I knew from that moment we had the same idea. Escape through the Tardis. I ran faster and faster. I needed to head to the Tardis quick and get us out if here. There was no chance in saving them now, it was too risky. Constel moves quicker and reaches the Tardis doors first. She outran the monsters, and even me. That's my Constel! I manage to pass them, now also being chased. She pushed some buttons on the console, and the Tardis about to fly off. Constel reaches her hand out, calling my name.  
  
"Doctor!!" I use the last of my running strength and grab on to her hand. She pulls me in and the Tardis starts whirring.   
  
"C-Constel...." I let go of her hand and try to catch my breath "You–" I look at her in shock. She was fading, disappearing. "No...!" I look out towards the door. Constel was struggling, the REAL Constel. The Chromozens had her in their grasp. Her color fading, the light, the LIFE, in her eyes were fading as well. She looked at me, crying, and smiling at me. She mouthed something to me before the doors immediately closed.  
  
"Go....Doctor...."  
  
The doors shut, and the Tardis flew away from her. I turned to the console immediately when the fading Constel was still there. She– no. She's fading slower than usual. I approach her.   
  
"Do[@#$%!&*]ctor...." Her speech was impaired a bit but understandable enough.  
  
"Constel....why?..." I look at her, pained. I was about to reach the console when she stopped me. "What are you doing?"  
  
"You ca[*^!&$]n't." She blocked my way to the console. I was getting upset now.  
  
"Constel, move. I need to go back, to save you! And, how're you still physical technically? It shouldn't be possible!–" She stepped forward and I get a bit startled. She reaches to whatever's left on her pockets and pulls out my sonic screwdriver. She hands it to me apologizing.  
  
"I'm s[*&@%$]orry... I....she took it... During the sp[*@^$!]lit... she–"  
  
"She knew this would happen.... But why didn't she use you as–"  
  
"Infected." She interupted me. I looked at her in confusion. She noticed and reiterated it again. "Inf[@&$!*]ected.... Script's infect[*!^$#&]ion affected her.... Didn't want to w[*!&#$]orry you...." She's starting to fade even more, making her speech more impaired.  
  
"No no no no! Constel, I need to go back! I have to!" I was practically freaking out. Why didn't I notice it earlier? There could've been a better way. There could have! I was fidgeting, restless. Constel came up and hugged me.  
  
"I'm s[*@^!&]orry, Do[*&!#%$]ctor...." She held me tight, and I held her tight. In that instant, she vanished. I looked at my hands for a moment, then gripped them.  
  
"No matter what, Constel, I'm gonna get you back if it's the last thing I do." I put in the coordinates to the place we were just at, pulls some levers and pushes some buttons, and flew off. I can't go back in time and save her before it happened because then it would create a paradox. I saw her get captured with my own two eyes, and I can't change that.   
She lands and I immediately head outside. There was no color in the entire city. All black and white. I first head back to the restaurant, but there was no one there. No sign of Script Writer either. Was there really no one around? I buzz my sonic screwdriver around but nothing comes up. There was no single life form in this city left.

  
\- - -

  
I finish my story and I didn't realize that I started trembling at some point. I also didn't realized that I said "Constel" throughout my story. Turner puts his hand on my shoulder and gives me a sympathetic smile.   
"S-Sorry about that, Turner. I didn't mean to let it drag on for so long. And about my companion..."  
  
"Hey, don't worry about it. It's obvious you're not from our, well, this world. So, Constel is your companion in your universe. That must be rough, losing her that is."  
  
"Yeah..." We both stay quiet for a few minutes. The silence is actually making us feel uncomfortable. We're Timelords. We, so to say, thrive off of the thrill of adventure. I decide to break the silence, also realizing something. "Turner, where's Harmony?" He looks at me, wondering.  
  
"Harmony? Actually, yeah, you're right. Harmony hasn't come back yet. She said she was getting drinks but it doesn't take this long to grab drinks." He gets concerned.   
  
"Let's go look for her. It's either she got caught up in something or something had happened to her." I stand up and he gets up as well.  
  
"Alright, you have a point. Let's go." We both nod and then head out. He stops for a moment at the door and I look at him concerned.  
  
"Turner, what's wrong?" He seems to be hesitant in wanting to go out. "Turner.... How long have you been in the Tardis?..." He sighs.  
  
"About 4 months...."   
  
"4 months!? You really haven't left the Tardis in 4 months? Mother of Celestia, we don't have time for this." I firmly told him off and he gets a bit upset.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't be holed up in here if I didn't have these memory fluctuations! I can't look at the towns people normally anymore! And Harmony.... I haven't told her anything yet...." I firmly walk up to him and grab him by the shoulders.  
  
"I understand how you feel but sometimes you've got to tell her things that are important, and right now it's pretty serious!" My hands start trembling. "We are the Doctor. We lie all the time and travel through all of time and space with that very knowledge on us... There are things we can't say to our companions, to anyone! But....if you really care about Harmony that much, you've got to tell her. At least the little things like your memory fluctuations. You won't know how much you really need them....until they're gone...." I let him go and walk back outside. I recompose myself and turn towards him "Now, let's go see where your companion wandered off to."  
  
He hesitates then smiles, recomposing himself as well. "Alright, let's go."

  
\- - -

  
We're looking around town together, he's a bit nervous but thing's will be alright for him. We keep looking and I spot Constel out of the corner of my eye. I'm about to walk the opposite direction when Turner notices and stops me.  
  
"There's no use ignoring this world's Constel now, Nova. I understand you miss your companion but that can't stop you from doing what you, we, do best. I know it's what my companion would've wanted." He pushes me forward and I stumble in front of Constel. She gets startled and so do I. I glare back at Turner and he grins at me then leaves.  
  
"N-N-Nova!" She looks at me in shock. I look at her and immediately apologize.  
  
"I'm sorry, Constel. I accidentally 'tripped' while walking with a friend of mine. Are you alright though?"  
  
"F-Fine. Are you alright?" She gives me a worried look and I smiled.  
  
"Just fine. Oh, can I ask you a question?" She hesitates for a moment then nods. "I'm looking for a girl, Harmony Chaser. Do you know where I can find her?"  
  
"Harmony? Oh, I know her!" Her face lights up. "She's a very close friend of mine and she's really nice and fun and–"  
  
"Yes, I've met her before. I just need to know where she is."   
  
"Oh, w-well, she just left a few minutes ago with her boyfriend, Color Pencil, to Sugar Cube Corner. I think you might be able to catch her."  
  
"Thanks, Constel. I'll see you around." I turn and head to Sugar Cube Cube corner but felt something grab me from behind. "Wha–"  
  
"W-Wait!" Constel clenches to the back of my shirt.  
  
"C-Constel, are you alright?..." I felt a bit concerned. "What's wrong?"  
  
She stands there for a moment, probably trying to think of something to say. After a while she replies. "C-Can I come with you?...." She looked at me a bit concerned. It might be because of the face I'm making. I was pretty surprised at what she had said.  
  
"W-What do you mean?" I tense up.  
  
"I mean– I get this weird feeling whenever you're around... You're different. Like, there's s-something about you that's exciting and mysterious. So, I-I'd like to come with you! Whatever y-you need with Harmony, is my concern too." She looks at me very determined. There's that little spark of MY Constel there that I couldn't say no to.  
  
"Alright, but it will be dangerous. Being with me even for a short while can put your life in danger. Are you really willing to find out what I do?" She hesitates then nods solemnly. "Well, miss Constel. You are my temporary assistant." I smile and she smiles too.  
  
"G-Glad to be working with you."  
  
"Likewise, now let's go to Sugar Cube Corner." We both then head in the direction of Sugar Cube Corner.

  
-

  
We arrive at the place and soon I saw Turner. I called out for him and he sees me. He gestures us to come over. We walk towards him and he greets us.   
"Nova! There you are! And I see you brought a friend as well." She gets a bit nervous but politely greets herself.  
  
"H-Hello! I'm Constel. N-Nice to meet you..." She steps back a bit but Turner takes a few steps toward her.  
  
"Nice to meet you too! I've heard so much about you from Harmony. Oh, speaking of Harmony, I found her." We both breathe a sigh of relief.  
  
"Well, did you find out why she took so long?" He looks at me with a concerned face. "Turner, what's wrong?"  
  
"...She....doesn't recognize me...." He looks down and I get really concerned.  
  
"She doesn't recognize you? But why? That can't be possible unless–"  
  
"Unless someone got to her...." Turner interrupts. "It could be what you were saying. This world is being altered from actual reality, and there may be a mastermind behind all of this." The pieces are connecting but we're still missing the important pieces.  
  
"Who do you think is the mastermind behind all of this?"  
  
"I'm just as clueless as you..." Turner gets frustrated.   
  
Constel pulls on my sleeve, catching my attention. "U-Um, what are you guys talking about? This world, alternate reality, mastermind?"  
  
Turner looks at Constel, almost forgetting I brought her with me. "Constel, this doesn't concern you–"  
  
"It does now." She interrupts. "I want to know what's happening. And, I'm already plenty involved. Harmony is my close friend. And she tells me stories of her and a mysterious man traveling to far away places. I feel like you're the one she's talking about." She backs up behind me, realizing what she had said out loud. "I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to t-talk back...."  
  
"Now now, don't worry about it, Constel. I got you involved when I shouldn't." I give her a sympathetic look. Turner walks up to Constel. I tense up not sure what's going to happen.  
  
"...I'm sorry, Constel. I was being awfully rude. I'm just....upset, enraged actually. And Doctor." He puts his hand on my shoulder. "I understand what you mean now." He seems to be referring to what we were talking about before in the Tardis. I also give him a sympathetic look.  
  
"Well, no need to be gloomy right now. I know I've been there. We've got a mystery to solve. Constel, you can always back out now but knowing you, you probably won't." She embarrassingly nods but is filled with determination.  
  
"I agree. We need to find out what's been going on. I want my companion back as soon as possible."  
  
"Likewise. So what's our next plan of action?"  
  
"U-Um, I have a suggestion." Constel enters into the conversation suggesting an idea. "I could go talk to her..." Turner and I look at each other, nodding in agreement.  
  
"That would be the most logical." She nods and walks toward Harmony.  
  
They seem to be having a nice friendly conversation. We're waiting near Sugar Cube Corner, talking to each other.  
"I still don't like the idea of bringing Constel into this." Turner looks at me seriously. He also looks concerned with me.  
  
"Yes, I know I know. She just really persisted on coming and....she made a face I couldn't say 'no' to." I keep looking at her. Turner was right. I shouldn't be dragging this world's Constel into my own problems. Plus, I could never replace her....Not even with her alternate...  
"You really do love your companion, huh, Nova?" Turner says bringing my attention back to him. I slightly smile.  
  
"Well, so do you." We both smile. I start feeling a bit awkward. "This is a first." Turner seems curious.  
  
"A first? What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, I mean, we always used to fight a lot. Actually, we practically hated each other. We would always try and be friends when our companions were around. It was quiet difficult." He laughs a bit.  
  
"Yeah? I remember something like that I think....! Ack!" Turner starts cringing in pain suddenly.  
  
"T-Turner, are you alright!? Turner!" I approach him and his hands are on his head.   
  
"Agh!.... The.... My head.....!" He cringes some more and people start gathering. He's starting to pass out. There's too much of a scene.   
  
"Tch.... Constel! We're leaving!" I call out to Constel and she notices something was wrong. She says goodbye to Harmony and immediately runs towards us.  
  
"N-Nova, what's wrong?!– T-Turner!..." She starting to get really worried.  
  
"No time to explain! Help me support him up. We've made too much of a scene." She gets startled for a moment but doesn't hesitate to help him up. I turn and face to the crowd. "N-No need to worry, people. I'm a Doctor, I'll handle this. Now, I need to get through." I firmly tell the towns people and they comply.  
  
Constel leans in closer to me. "N-Nova, was it good to lie to the people?..."  
  
"Don't worry. I wasn't lying. It was only to a small extent." We continue walking. I couldn't go back to the Tardis because we'll get lost in the chameleon maze. Turner is also passed out so we can't get directions. We need a place we could reach to, and quick.  
  
Constel stops and points at the hospital clinic. "N-Nova, we can leave him in the hospital clinic for now. They-They have temporary rooms for people to rest in for a-at least a day."   
  
"Perfect, I'll–" I stop midway sentence. As I look towards the clinic, I see Astro. I had forgotten that I got on bad terms with this world's Astro. Just my luck. "Actually, sorry to have put this on you but....you have to go do reservations."  
  
"W-W-What!? I-I can't! I can't t-talk to people....." I pull Turner off Constel and face her. She get's a bit startled.  
  
"I got on bad terms with the person at the front desk so they won't be lenient with me. You're the only one I can count on, Constel. I know you can do it. I believe in you." I give her a patient smile. She looks at me in awe then nods, nervously.  
  
"A-Alright. T-This is really important so...I'll do it!" She walks over to the hospital clinic. She's a bit stiff but she'll do fine. She's my....  
  
"No, stop. Think, Nova think! She's not YOUR Constel. She's not the one you're looking for...." I mumble to myself, practically arguing silently. I take a deep breath.   
I wait outside with Turner on my back. He's actually pretty heavy. It's already dark out and Constel still hasn't gotten back. I start to get a bit worried. I look over at the clinic and realize Astro and Constel aren't there. I get even more concerned. I hesitate then start to walk towards the clinic. As I'm a few feet away from the entrance I see Constel and Astro come out from inside the clinic. Oh thank Celestia.   
  
Constel notices me and walks towards me. "Nova, sorry it took so long. I-I got a room for him!" She smiles and is just beaming with happiness.  
  
"Glad to hear that, Constel. He's getting pretty heavy anyways." I look up and see Astro. He glares at me for a moment then walks towards the front desk.  
  
"Ah! T-Thank you, Astro!" He looks back and smiles at Constel, just for a second. Then turns back around. "Ah..." She looked a bit sad but only for a moment.  
  
"Constel, I thought you guys didn't know each other."  
  
"Huh? Oh, w-well we didn't but as he was showing my the room, we t-talked a bit. We actually have a lot in common."  
  
"I figured so..." She looks at me, curious, not hearing what I had just said. "Ah, it's nothing. Now, the room."  
  
"O-Oh! I almost forgot. H-Here, I'll take you to it." We both walk down a hallway, taking a few turns before reaching the room. The door says 209 on it. She grabs a key from her pocket and opened the door. I walk up to the bed and place him down.  
  
"There we go." I pull my arms up, stretching. "I'm gonna have to stay here as well."  
  
"Huh, r-really? Don't you have a place to stay?"  
  
"Not really. The, um, vehicle I came with is broken down and is in no condition to be traveling anywhere. Also, there's a problem happening here that I need to fix."  
  
"Well, since you're gonna be here..." She pulls up a chair next to me and looks at me with very curious eyes. "Tell me about yourself."  
  
"H-Huh?" I get a bit taken back. I sighed a bit. "There's nothing you need to know about me. Now, about Harmony–"  
  
"But I want to know. You've been running around everywhere. Like, it's something you do all the time. Just tell me." She interrupted and insisted.  
  
"Constel, you shouldn't get so involved with me. Something dangerous could happen to you and....I wouldn't be able to save you...." I look down and she tries to see what expression I'm making.  
  
"Nova...."

"Sorry, it's nothing..." There a bit of silence between us for a moment. Suddenly, she gets up and holds me. "C-Constel?...."  
  
"I-I'm sorry but....I think you need a hug. I don't n-normally do this to other people b-but... You seem like you have a lot you're holding in...." She slowly lets go and looks at me. Her face bright red and embarrassed. "A-At least tell me a little, if it'll help. You just.... You can trust me." She smiles, worriedly.   
  
I don't normally take hugs from people, but there are only a few occasions. One is Constel. I grab her and hold her tight. She gets really startled.  
  
"N-N-Nova!?"  
  
"....I'm the Doctor...."   
  
"Huh?...." She gets a bit confused.  
  
"I'm the Doctor.... I'm a Timelord and I travel through all of time and space." What am I saying? "I'm basically a mad man in a box....running, oh, always running..." I can feel my body trembling. "....I've lived over 900 years... I know what it feels to lose and lose someone.... Recently....I lost someone I really cared about....in a 'gone missing' sense...." Why am I telling her this? Is it because she's still Constel, just not MY Constel? It's been 4 months but for once it feels like years has passed by.  
After a while, Constel relaxes and lets me hold her in my embrace. We stayed there for who knows how long. This is something that I would never do. Me as the Doctor, showing weakness to an almost complete stranger yet very close stranger. I take a deep breath and release her. She looks at me a bit concerned.  
  
"....Are....Are you alright now?..." I look at her and her face is flushed red. It completely left my mind that she IS a girl and that we still are strangers. I slightly put space in between us.  
  
"S-Sorry. I'm fine, for now. But are you alright? I hugged you so suddenly and for a long time too. You must've felt uncomfortable." She shakes her head.  
  
"N-No no! I-I'm fine, N-Nova. W-Well, should I call you Nova or would D-Doctor make you feel better?..." I hesitate for a moment.  
  
"I'm sorry but....Nova is fine... Hearing you say 'Doctor'....would bring up, um..." I stayed silent and she starts to get worried.  
  
"O-Oh, I'm sorry! I-I didn't know! I'll call you Nova, it'll be fine!..." She gets a bit nervous and then tries to attempt a smile to make me feel better. I couldn't help but laugh a little. She starts blushing furiously. "N-N-Nova?? Why are you– It's n-not funny!" I look away, trying not to laugh as much anymore. She gets embarrassed.   
  
"I-I'm sorry, Constel." I tone the laughing down and look at her. "Don't be so tense. You're fine." I pat her head slightly for a second. "Now, about Harmony."  
  
"O-Oh, yes! We were talking normally. She was still her cheery self but when I asked about her s-stories, she didn't know what I was talking about. She tried but she c-couldn't remember anything about it...." She looked down and started to get worried.  
  
"It's alright, Constel. I promise to get whoever did this, you hear me?" She saw how serious I was and started to calm down.  
  
"T-Thank you, Nova." She still was a bit tense but she's still fine.  
  
I stand up. "Well, it's awfully late. You should head back home. Your parents are probably– Oh! Wait, forget I said that...." Constel tries to attempt a smile, getting a bit nervous. "Sorry. You have a place to stay at, correct? Go, I'll be fine."  
  
"I-I.... um....ok." She hesitates for a moment then heads out the door. "G....Goodnight, Nova...." She closes the door and silence fills the room. 

  
-

  
I sigh and look over to Turner. "...You've been awake, haven't you?" After a moment of silence, Turner sits up from the bed rubbing his head.  
  
"Well, I can't fool you, Nova." He looks at my with his left eye open. "My head took quite a beating."  
  
"I can see. What did happen, Turner? Though I could probably guess." I wait for Turner to respond.  
  
"Heh, well, it felt like....I was being pulled away from my body. Someone, or something, is trying to pull my memories out." It's exactly what I had guessed.   
  
"That's what I was thinking as well. What could have so much strength to do that?" We both think in the silence.  
  
"*sigh* Well, whatever it was, it most likely got to Harmony... Tch...." Turner looks down, face filled with rage.  
  
"Do you think it's purposely trying to erase our existence from this world?" He looks up at me in curiosity.   
  
"That's probably their plan. They must see us as a great threat erasing everyone's memories of us. Even mine..." Turner immediately stands up. He slams the table in frustration. "They think they could just waltz in and make me forget my companion and the people of this planet! Whoever it is, I will find them. I will find them even if it takes me to the ends of the galaxies. They will regret messing with me, the Doctor!"   
  
I stand up and walk to him with caution. "I understand how you feel, Turner. This is gotten to the point of no mercy. Making everyone we knew and encountered forget about us–" I gape my mouth open just realizing something. "Oh, that's it!" Turner looks at me in shock and confusion.  
  
"Nova, what did you–" I immediately grab Turner by the shoulders.  
  
"That's it. Whoever's erasing their memories must've encountered them after they encountered us. Like Harmony. She got involved with the both of us, left, and then she forgot. The other townspeople didn't recognize us, so they were the first ones. They must've gotten to Twilight already... All that's left is...."  
  
"Constel...." We both gasp.   
  
"Turner, we need to go. Right. Now." I let him go and head out the door. He soon follows.

  
-

  
I run to the front desk and Astro steps back in surprise. I stood in front of him, a bit concerned and distracted. "How long do you work here?...." He seemed to get irritated by that. He was about to say something but I didn't have time. "Astro, tell me which way Constel went."  
  
"Wha– Why would I tell you that?"  
  
"It's very important. I need to know. Right now." I glare at him and he glares back. Turner comes up from behind me.  
  
"Nova, I'll go outside and see if I spot her." He leaves and I'm still glaring down at Astro.  
  
He sighs and leans on his arm.  
"I don't know what you need with her but you look pretty serious about it. She took a left. Don't know where she was headed though."  
  
"Thank you, Astro." I broke the glare and ran out to meet Turner.  
  
"I told you not to call me 'Astro'!" Astro calls out, frustratedly.  
  
"Turner, she went left." Turner grips his head and turns to me.  
  
"N-Nova.. ack!..." He almost stumbles but manages to stand up.  
  
"Turner, are you–" He turns and looks at me.  
  
"Don't worry about me! Looks like they still got a grip on me– b-but looks like they can't get a grip on you, so just go! I'm the Doctor.... It'll take more than this to stop me.... You should know that better than anyone else.. GO!" I hesitate but turn and leave him. He better not have gave in when I get back.

  
-

  
I run quickly. The streets are dark and there are no people in sight. The perfect place for an alien to attack. I'm restless. Looking around for any sight of Constel. I'm not gonna lose this world's Constel. I'd never forgive myself is I did. Soon after running for a few minutes I spot Constel. Hope to Celestia they haven't gotten to her.  
"Constel!!" I call out to her, still running. She turns around and sees me coming after her.  
  
"N-Nova??..." She recognized me. Good.  
  
"Constel, I–" I see a shadow lurk behind her. "Behind you, Constel!" She turns around and gets terrified. She trips backwards and the shadow barely misses her. I'm running at full speed towards Constel and ram into the shadowy figure. We both stumble and fall on to the ground.   
  
Constel gets worried and walks up next to me. "N-N-Nova!? Are you alright??"   
  
"I've been better..." I sit up, rubbing my now stiff shoulder a little. "Where's the mysterious figure?" I look at where I rammed into it and my face goes pale. Under the light, what I saw was a Chromozen.  
  
"[*^@%^º¶§¢™¢å≥æœ]" It spoke incoherently. A language I've never heard before. It looked around and spotted me. Immediately, it ran into the darkness.  
  
"Ah, wait!–" I reached out but it disappeared into nothingness. I got frustrated. Constel notices and rubs my back. I get a bit startled.  
  
"Ah! S-Sorry.... This usually helps me calm down so I thought–"  
  
"No no, it's fine. Are you alright, Constel? The Chromozen almost got you, I was worried..." She smiles slightly, continuing to rub my back.  
  
"Oh, I-I'm fine. Just a bit scared but you came to rescue me so....t-thank you..." She looks away, embarrassed. Her face slightly red.  
  
"That's good, and don't mention it. It's my job." I try to stand up, pushing my arm on the floor to support me, but a flash of pain came out of my shoulder. "Ouch!–" I grip my shoulder.  
  
"N-Nova, your shoulder!"  
  
"Don't worry about it. I did ram into the Chromozen and hit the ground hard right after. I can manage." I sit for a while, letting the pain subside.  
  
"Here, l-let me help you up." She grabs my hand and tries to pull me up. I smile at her efforts and stood up with her support. "N-Nova, I have a lot of questions to ask b-but I'll ask them later. For now, i-is Turner alright?..." I immediately remembered.  
  
"I left him while he was having a memory breakdown, just like what happened earlier. We need to go back to the clinic, now." I grab her hand and start running. She stumbles a bit but keeps up with my pace.

  
-

  
We arrive at the clinic. Turner wasn't anywhere to be seen outside. I look inside the clinic and see that the doors were shut and the lights were off.  
"Constel, are the lights usually off?" I ask, still gripping my shoulder.  
  
"Sometimes b-but they usually have the dim lights on for any v-visitors." She clenches my hand tighter and I can tell that she's worried.  
  
"Don't worry, Constel. Let's go check it out so stay close." She hesitates then nods, keeping close.  
  
We walk up to the door of the clinic. I'm scanning around to see if anyone is inside. The first thing I notice is Astro sleeping on the counter. I push the door, and it was locked. It seems Astro heard and his head perks up. He tenses up at first and then relaxes when he sees us.  
"Astro, can you let us in by any chance?" He gets irritated and walks up to the door.  
  
He grabs some keys out of his pocket and unlocks the door. "What did I tell you about calling me 'Astro'." He lets us in and glares at me.  
  
"T-Thank you, Astro..." Constel lets my hand go and walks up to him, thanking him.  
  
"Don't mention it." He pats her head. She get s bit startled but doesn't seem to mind it. "A person like you shouldn't be wandering around int the dark anyways. And with a guy like him, are you an idiot?"  
  
"Oi! Don't categorize me as a creep. I am acquainted with her anyways." He looks at me, unconvinced.  
  
"Oh, really? From today, I would've thought you were trying to pry into everyone's personal business and cause commotions." That struck a nerve.  
  
"We'll I'm not trying to pry in that sense. I'm only doing what I do best."  
  
He scoffs at me "Hah, what you do best? Don't make me laugh."  
  
"Yeah, and what concern is it to you?" This world's Astro is highly rude and snappy. "Me bringing Constel around with me, sure, that could lead up to rumors but she wanted to come along. You are in no way, shape, or form related to Constel. What does it concern you?" I seem to have struck a nerve this time. The air is very tense and Constel gets worried enough to step in between us.  
  
"Stop! Stop it, you guys! A-Arguing is not gonna solve anything." She looks at Astro. "Astro, it makes me r-really happy that you're concerned with me but I am acquainted w-with Nova." She then looks at me. "And Nova, I thought you were b-better than this. And we're not here to argue with Astro. Did you forget what we came here for?" We both get shocked and stay silent. We were told off by Constel.  
  
"*sigh* I'm sorry, Astro– I mean, I'm sorry, alright. We came here for a different reason. Have you seen a person named Time Turner around? We both left the clinic together a few minute–"  
  
"Yeah, he's here."   
  
"What? Really?"   
  
He looked a bit annoyed. "Yes, that's what I said. This 'thing' got a hold of him and I just grabbed the nearest thing I had and swung at it. It let go and circled around in pain. I took your friend back to their room. The 'thing' disappeared when I looked away also."  
  
"Thank you. Constel, you stay with Mr. Galaxies here while I go check on Turner." I run off down the hallway and Constel tries to follow.  
  
"W-Wait, let me–" Astro grabs her arm. She gets startled and looks at Astro.  
  
"Don't. Leave him be." She hesitates then stays with Astro.

  
-

  
I arrive at room 209, where Turner originally was. I take a deep breath and open the door. What I see is Turner sitting on the bed, thinking. He doesn't look hurt.  
"Turner, are you alright?" He looks at me and tries to attempt a smile.  
  
"Heh, just peachy, Nova..." He grips his right arm tightly and I get concerned.  
  
"Turner, what's wrong with your arm? Was is the Chromozen?..." He nods then takes off his jacket. His arm's color was faded completely.  
  
He sighs and looks at me. "Yes, it was. And it's something I've never seen before either. My right arm is completely useless to me right now. The life has been sucked out of it. Also..." He points at his own head. "My memory fluctuations are getting worse. At this pace, I'll forget and fade. I'll cease to exist."  
  
I get frustrated. "There must be a way to fix this, to save you as well–"  
  
"Don't!" He loudly interrupts me. "There is no time left, Nova. You have enough information to find those bastards and finish this. Don't stop because of me, go!"  
  
I hesitate. "Turner..."  
  
He tosses me his sonic screwdriver and saw me off. "Nova, you're the only one who can do this. Everyone's counting on you. Everyone's counting on the Doctor."  
  
I hesitate. "....I know." I put his sonic in my pocket and leave the room.

  
-

  
I get back to the front desk where Constel and Astro are waiting at.  
"Constel, we're going." I walk past her and walk outside.  
  
"A-Ah! W-Wait, Nova–" Astro grabs her arm again. She gets startled. "A-Astro, you have to let me go."  
  
"No, I don't trust him. Even though he's telling the truth, I still can't trust him. Constel, I have a bad feeling about this." He looked at her with concern, and I'm watching from outside.  
  
"Astro... Why're you so worried about me?..."   
  
"This may sound dumb, but.... I see you as a little sister... It's weird, extremely." He looks away embarrassed.  
  
"Oh, w-well, I....I see you as an older brother too..." She looks down embarrassed. It's getting too mushy for me.  
  
"Alright alright. We established the sibling concept, now, Constel, let's go." I grab her hand and walk back out. She stumbles a bit but manages to follow my pace. Astro sighs and proceeds to lock the doors of the clinic.

  
\- - -

  
I grab my sonic and scan the area Constel was almost attacked in. I can't pick up anything and it gets me restless. I'm running low on time. The Chromozens are taking action and soon Constel and I will be next. I'm focusing and trying to find a way to pick up a trail. I didn't notice but Constel has been tugging my shirt for a while.  
"Oh, Constel. Sorry, I was too focused on task. What do you need?"  
  
"I-Is your shoulder still alright?" She noticed that I was still gripping on my shoulder. I reflexively pulled my hand away and smiled.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Constel. I'm fine. But we need to find a way to lure the Chromozen."   
  
"U-Um, that's the name of the t-thing that almost grabbed me?..." She starts to get a bit nervous.  
  
"Yeah, don't worry. I'll handle it. It's...something I do often. Saving the world and such. But I need to come up with a plan to lure it out..." I keep scanning for any traces of the Chromozen and also going through different plans of action. Then Constel tugs on my shirt again.  
  
Constel nervously suggests, "W-Well, I....I may have an idea...."   
  
I get intrigued. "What idea do you have in mind?"  
  
She hesitates and takes a deep breath. "T-To lure it out maybe....maybe I..."  
  
I didn't get what she was trying to say at first but then it came to me. "No, no no. I am not letting you be bait. That's out of the question." She looks at me nervous but determined.  
  
"But, Nova. You were restless. You were so focused, and I feel that we don't have much time left. Nova–"  
  
"No!" I yelled and she gets startled. "I will not let you do that. I don't want to lose you again–" Crap, I said too much.  
  
"A-Again? N-Nova, what do you mean?..." She approaches me with concern.  
  
"I....I...." I looked away, clenching my fists.  
  
She approaches me and grabs my hand. "Nova... You're....very mysterious, you know? Look..." She gestures me to turn and look at her. "I don't know anything about you, I'm not even sure why I insisted on f-following you but.... I can trust you. Trust you enough to save me when I'm in d-danger. Nova, can you....can you trust me with this?...."  
  
I tried to think of multiple ways to not let her be used as bait but there was a small percentage of being able to come up with an idea ways into talking her out of this but.... "Constel, I'm really not for this idea but.....I'll trust you on this." She smiles and nods. She was still nervous but was determined to do it. I just hope nothing bad happens.

  
-

  
I'm hiding behind a building and Constel is standing outside all alone. I wait, with my sonic prepped and ready, hoping nothing bad happens.  
A few minutes pass by, nothing happened. The minutes drag on and there was still no signs of anything. Did they already find out our plan? I look and Constel is giving me a confused and worried look. She's probably thinking, 'Why isn't anything happening?' or 'Why aren't they coming out?'. I gave her a 'I have no clue' look. She looks away and I sigh. Time for another plan then....!  
Suddenly, I get grabbed from behind. I look and it was the Chromozen. I quickly look away to avoid it's eye. I cannot look at them.  
"C-Constel!" I called her name and forced my way out from behind the building. She looks and immediately was terrified.  
  
"N-Nova!" She runs towards me but I firmly told her,  
"Constel, don't come any closer! And don't look into it's eyes! It'll–" It starts constricting me harder. "Argh!–" I feel my shoulder pain getting worse and worse. I also feel my energy slowly leave my body. This is really bad.   
  
Constel starts to get worried. "N-Nova, what do I do?! I don't know what to–"  
  
"Calm down!" She starts to get restless. "Agh! Constel–" I muster all the strength I could and tossed my sonic to her. "Use it!"  
  
Constel grabs it and looks at me confused. "W-Wha–"  
  
"P-Press the button down– and point it towards me! Hurry!–" It starts pulling me backwards, trying to get me into the alleyway.  
  
Constel holds the button and points it at me. The buzzing sound resonates and there are small particles of light gathering around me and the Chromozen. I hear sizzling. Suddenly, the particles get really bright, blinding almost. Constel looks away and the Chromozen starts shaking in pain. I start feeling the blinding pain as well. It's bind loosen and I was able to break free. I pull out Turner's sonic and scan the Chromozen before it immediatly knocks me back and flees into the dark alleyway.  
The light dispels and the night goes back to being dark again. I lay on the floor, gasping in pain. My clothes are partially singed, my shoulder in immense pain, and I can feel my back starting to tingle as well. The infection has started.  
  
Constel opens her eyes again and sees me collapsed on the floor. She stumbles on to her feet and runs towards me.   
"N-Nova! Nova!" Constel tries to reach for me and shake me,  
But I stopped her. "Constel! Don't–" She stops, getting startled. "You can't touch me.... I've been infected and....there's nothing I can do about it...." I lay there on the ground, trying to catch my breath.  
  
"N-Nova....what..." She looks at me like she's about to cry.   
  
I painfully smile. "I used my sonic....and put an attractive program to it to....collect the nearby light particles.... Since the Chromozen was....a large eyeball, I....thought I could blind it long enough....to get at least a bit of data....but...I miscalculated that....it would be after me instead.... I got caught in the light's....blinding rays and I got singed a bit...."  
  
"N-Nova, don't....don't talk like....you're dying...." I laugh a bit and give her a more genuine smile.  
  
"Constel....I won't die that easily.... There's just....pain...." I feel my head get light and soon I passed out.

  
\- - -

  
I'm sitting in the Tardis, wondering what happened. I look around and see Constel sitting next to me worried. It was my Constel. I was pretty shocked and Constel gave me a worried look.  
  
"Doctor, are you alright?" Her usual self. I couldn't believe my eyes when I heard and saw it. "D-Doctor, woah!..." I immediately reach in for a hug and she gets startled.   
  
"Constel... I've never been so glad to see you." I take a deep breath and I let her go.   
  
She looked concerned now. "Doctor...."  
  
"Constel, what're we doing in the Tardis anyways? Sorry, actually, that may have sounded weird." I embarrassingly smile and look at her. She looked....sad.  
  
"Doctor, I'm sorry but....this is just...." She hesitated and I realized what she was trying to say. I sighed and put my hand through my hair, upsettingly.  
  
"....I'm dreaming, aren't I?..." She nods regrettably.  
  
"Y-Yes.... You fell unconscious.... I'm still–"  
  
"You're still gone, I know. And....you're just a figment of my imagination in this dream..." She nods sadly again.  
  
"Doctor....I'm sorry. I told you not to find me but you went ahead and did it anyways.... Say, Doctor, how long are you going to be asleep?" I get a bit surprised and thought about it.  
  
"To be completely honest, I don't want to wake up. It's been months since I've lost you and....and I'm suffering bad here..." She places her hand on my back and rubs it. She continues to listen to me. "From all the years I've travelled and regenerated, I've been with you the longest and....we've had great adventures, no, grand adventures."  
  
"Doctor..." She looks at me like she's upset. "Listen to me. You're the Doctor. You can't just run away from this. There are people who need you, Doctor. Especially...." She stands and backs up. "Me.... The me out there needs you. Both of them need you.... If you're gonna do this then, do it for me...." She smiles at me. Her usual smile she gives me every time, everyday since we've travelled together.  
  
A sudden realization cam to me. She was right. They need me as much as I need her. I can't stay here any longer....

  
\- - -

  
I open my eyes. The first thing I'm greeted with is a bright white light. I instinctively close one of my eyes and adjust my vision. I knew where I was. The hospital clinic. I slowly sit up and scan my surroundings. I feel a slight sharp pain go up my back and noticed that my shirt was not on. I also noticed that sitting on the chair next to me was Constel, asleep. I smile for a second and wondered how I got here. Suddenly, concern arises from me. I check my body and there were bandages wrapped around from my chest to my right shoulder. There were also bandages on my arms from the burns. Underneath the bandages, I can see that the de-color infection was slowly spreading. Too slow actually. Another thing occurs in my mind. Did Constel carry me over here, or at least someone else did? They may have caught my infection.   
The door opens and I see Astro. He looks at my expressionless as usual. "So, you're awake?" He walks up to me and checks my vital signs.  
  
"Astro– Ahem, I mean, Mr. Galaxies, how exactly did I get here?" He looks at me for a second then glances at Constel.  
  
"She ran and called me over. Told me you were passed out and badly hurt. She was on the verge of crying as well. I pulled out a stretcher from the closet and followed her to you. Of course, I knew she wouldn't be able to lift you up so I put you on the stretcher and brought you back here." He finished writing stuff in his clipboard he picked up and grabbed a chair to sit down.  
  
"Can I ask you a question, Mr. Gala–"  
  
"Astro is fine." I was startled by the sudden interruption. "You calling me 'Mr. Galaxies' is getting really uncomfortable now. And the sentence drags on as well so 'Astro' is fine."   
  
"Alright... Well, I want to ask a question. About my, well, lack of color on my body. When you brought me here did you....?" He sighs and pulls up his sleeve.  
  
"Yes, I'm now aware of the 'infection' Constel told me about." His left arm was losing color as well.  
  
"I'm sorry, this was my fault. I should've considered the fact that The Chromozen was after me."   
  
"Don't beat your sorry self up. You already look like a mess." He pulls his sleeve back down. "Now, I'm guessing something is going to happen to me soon with this infection thing on me so let me tell you something. I don't know who you are exactly and why these things are happening but if there's anything I've learned from today, it's that Constel is very important to me so if anything happens to her, you'll be hearing it from me. I'm in the same boat as you so you know full well about it." He abruptly stands back up and leaves through the door.  
  
I sigh and stare at the door. "I'd never let anything harm her if it meant my life, Astro...."   
  
I noticed that Constel was waking up. She opens her eyes and sees me awake. She immediately shoots back in surprise and almost falls backwards. I was about to reach and grab her but my infection prevented me to do so, and she fell backwards either way.  
  
"O-Ouch...." She sits up and looks at me. Her face immediately reddens and she looks down in embarrassment. "N-N-Nova, I didn't– I was–" She sighs and looks at me. "T-That was embarrassing..." I couldn't help but laugh a bit and she gets upset. "D-D-Don' laugh at me!"  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Good morning to you too, Constel." She sits back on the chair and straightens her clothes out.   
  
"N-Nova, are you alright? I-I was worried when you s-suddenly passed out..." She gave me a very worried look and I slightly smile.  
  
"Well, I didn't expect it to take that much out of me but I'm fine. Just shoulder and abdominal pain."  
  
"Nova, I'm p-pretty sure that wasn't all of it."  
  
I sighed. "Fine, the infection also is draining me of energy. I'll be fine though. Actually..." I reach for my pocket and grabbed Turner's sonic screwdriver. "I did get the Chromozens data so I can track where it went–"   
  
Suddenly, Constel grabs the sonic and puts it in her pocket. "Oh, no. You're gonna rest here and take a break from all this alien chasing. Alright?"  
  
"Constel, seriously? You can't be serious."  
  
"I'm being completely serious. You've been out for an entire day and you are in no condition to be walking about in town." She stares me down but I stare back.  
  
"Constel, we don't have time for this. There are people in danger and I'm the only one who can do something about it." She averts my gaze for a second, knowing I'm completely right.  
  
She still persists. "Nova, I understand how important this is for you but you need some rest too. Someone like you, who tries their hardest and always gets themselves into danger, deserves to have some time too. I don't think people see the good you've done for them so I want you to please relax. At least for a few hours." She looks at me with a pained face. A face I know too well to say no too, even if it's not the same person.  
  
I let out another sigh. "Alright, Constel. But only for a few hours. I'm doing this because you asked me to." She smiles and feels more at ease.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Oh, by the way, Constel. Don't you usually stay at the library with Miss Twilight?"   
  
"W-Well, I do but..." She looks down and hesitates to answer my question.  
  
"Constel, what's wrong?..." I look at her with concern. She doesn't say anything at first but responds.  
  
"Y-You see....Twilight doesn't recognize me...." I gape my mouth but close it. I had almost forgotten.  
  
"So I was right after all...." She looks at me with worry.  
  
"W-What do you mean?..." I tried to avoid her gaze and sigh.  
  
"The Chromozen got to her..."   
  
"W-What..." She looks at me with fear in her eyes. "B-But... Why her?... W-What could they p-possible want to..."  
  
I stop her from continuing. "Constel, I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen until it was too late. But why would it wipe memories of you. It makes no sense....unless...." Suddenly, I realised what it had meant.  
  
Constel gets a bit concerned. "Unless what, N-Nova?...."  
  
"Well, do you want to know?" She nods her head. "They may think that since you're so involved with me that they can't reach you. And if they can't reach you then they're erasing you out of everyone's memories, just like me and Turner.... I'm so sorry, Constel. I never meant for this to happen."  
  
She takes this in and she sits nervously in the chair. "It's....It's not you f-fault.... I put this on my....myself...."   
  
I try to reach my hand out to comfort her but because of the infection, I couldn't. "I'm sorry, Constel...." I couldn't say anything else. I've only been here for about 2 days and she's already been so involved. I should've never agreed to letting her come with me. It was too dangerous, she persisted, and I couldn't say no.  
Constel stands up, her hands clenched and trembling. "I'm....I'm gonna get some fresh air." She turns and leaves quickly.  
  
"Ah, Constel–" I sigh, depressingly. I hope she's alright...

  
-

  
The entire day passes. I tried preoccupying myself during these long dragging hours in the rest room. Constel hasn't come back to visit after she left but Astro kept coming by for check ups and to reassure me that she's alright. I was a bit relieved but still sad she didn't come by and visit. It started getting late; to be exact, it was 11 pm. The silence fills me with uneasiness. Astro comes through the door for my last check up.  
"Nova, I'm back. As usual." He said it with sarcasm and rolled his eyes. He didn't like this as much as I didn't like sitting here doing nothing.  
  
"Yes, Astro, now can you please hurry this up? I'd like to really leave and–"  
  
"Yeah yeah, I get it. Now hold still so I can check your vitals." He interrupts, not really caring to hear what I say. Pretty rude much, Astro.  
A few minutes pass by and he gives me to ok. "Don't do any crazy stunts like you did last time, or else it'll really damage you. Constel's pretty worried about you."  
  
"I know. I guarantee that I'll finish what I started." I stand up stretching a bit. The sharp pain in my shoulder subsided but it still hurt. "Thanks for your help, Astro."   
  
He walks towards the door and waves at me. "Don't mention it. You better solve this because...." He pulled up his left sleeve, showing his infection. "I'll be after you for this you got me involved in." Pulling his sleeve back down, he leaves.  
  
I take a moment to gather my thoughts and also head outside. I'm out in the hallway and I stop at room 209. I take a deep breath and open the door. The room is empty, like it's been untouched. I look towards the bed and see an empty silhouette, unnoticeable to any human eye. Turner had already ceased to exist but small particles of him still remain. I mouthed an 'I'm sorry' and left the room.  
  
I walk out to the front desk and noticed Astro talking to a short skinny boy. They seem to make a nice warm atmosphere. I smile. I feel like I've seen him before though. I look to my right and see Constel sitting there, waiting. She looked like she was waiting there for a long time.  
"Constel." I walk up to her and she gets a bit startled. She sees me and immediately gets relieved.   
  
"N-Nova, are you f-feeling better?"   
  
"Yeah, better than when I was this morning. Have you been....waiting here the whole time?" She nervously nods.  
  
"Y-Yeah... Sorry I didn't c-come back to the room. I was t-thinking a bit..." She doesn't look at me and I give her a patient smile.  
  
"It's fine, Constel. I understand if you want to stay here and avoid continuing this with me. I was the one who dragged you into this mess in the first pla–"  
  
"No! I-It's not that, I....I still want to be your assistant. I just....needed some fresh air, that's all. A-And..." She reaches for her pocket, grabs Turner's sonic and holds it up towards me. "H-Here's the sonic screwdriver I took. I also h-have the other one from l-last time..." She holds my sonic in her other hand and holds both of them towards me.  
  
I take them from her hands, being careful not to touch her in any way. "Thanks, Constel. Oh, by the way." I point at Astro and the person he's been talking too. "Who's the person Astro's talking to?" She look over and sees who I'm pointing at.  
  
"Oh, that's Color Pencil. He's Harmony's b-boyfriend." I look at him intently, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the combination.  
  
"Hmm.... Not to be rude but I can't see him with Harmony. But aside from that, I'm gonna find out where the Chromozen are coming from."   
  
"R-Really?..." She looks a bit nervous and I patiently smile at her.  
  
"You don't need to come, I don't want to endanger you any further."  
  
"No no. I want to come. A-And, you'll get yourself in danger if you go a-alone." She insists and I sigh.  
  
"Alright, but be careful." She nods and we both are smiling.  
  
As we're leaving, I turn and looked at Astro and Color. I called out to both of them. "You both look great together!" I ginned and quickly left. Constel immediately followed as well. I can hear Astro yelling from a distance. I'm most likely gonna get lectured when I get back. If I get back.

  
-

  
We walked a bit in the night, the time is already past midnight. I stop in my tracks and Constel stops as well making sure not to run into me. Constel walked towards me and looked at me in the face with something on her mind.  
"N-Nova, what you said back there... D-Did you mean it?..." She was a bit flustered. At first I was confused then remembered the hospital clinic.  
  
"I definitely meant it. I remembered who Color Pencil was and, well, details are not needed for that. Anyways, time to get to the main problem." I took Turner's sonic out and turned it on. Constel is flustered about what I had said about Color but tries to keep her composure.  
  
"W-What're you gonna do with that sonic?.." I smiled at her.

"Don't worry. It's nothing dangerous this time." She makes a sigh of relief. "Now let me show you what I am going to do with it." I love it when I show off my sonic, well, it's Turner's but still a sonic. I look over the data in his sonic, prepping to press the button.

"Hm?.." She looks curiously. That's what I'd like to see. I smile at her.  
  
"You see, I've taken the data I got from the Chromozen and used it as a pinpoint to track where they may be currently residing. Let me just..." I turned the nozzle and held the button down. The buzzing resonates for a while. "There! I now have track of it. Shall we go, Constel?" She looks at me in awe, impressed too.   
  
She smiled and nodded. "O-Of course, Nova!" I walk into a dark alleyway and she follows closely. We're finally making some progress. Don't worry, Constel, I'll find you and protect you both. Mark my words.

  
\- - -

  
Walking through the alleyway was not an easy task. It was rebuilt for trespassers like us to prevent finding their base. Luckily for me, I had track of them and it wasn't long before we arrived at our destination.  
"We finally arrived. The Chromozen's base..." First thing we see is a large ravine crawling with Chromozens. Pipes connected to the walls and buildings, going all the way towards the largest tower in sight. At the top of the tower was a giant core that was rainbow colored, brightening the entire place. That must be where their main source is, and probably their leader as well.  
  
Constel tries to reach for my shirt but remembers that she couldn't touch me. I turn and look at her seriously. "Constel, it's really too dangerous for you after all. I'll take you back–"  
  
"N-No! I'm....I'm fine. I wanted to come with you so I'm g-gonna see it through!" She looks at me filled with fear but it doesn't stop her from wanting to continue on.   
  
I hesitate. "Constel, I can't.... I won't be able to forgive myself if something happened to you a–...." I almost spilled out 'again' again.   
  
"Nova... I know we've only j-just known each other for a few days but...I feel like I need to be with you.... Go on adventures a-and travel to places with you. I don't know w-why I feel this way but it's genuinely how I feel... I-I know I've been repeating myself b-but please–" She bows her head down and I get a bit surprised. "Please let me travel with you! I-I want to see what you see and e-experience things never s-seen before. You d-don't need to worry about me, I made this choice a-and I'll take care of myself!" She keeps her head down, breathing like she's out of breath.  
  
I wanted to reach out and hug her but this blasted infection keeps preventing me to do so. "Constel, lift your head. Please." She lifts her head, her face filled with nervousness but passion as well. "Constel, I–" Suddenly, everything went black. Constel's face filled with fear and terror, was the last thing I could see.

  
\- - -

  
I wake up, my head in extreme pain. I slowly open my eyes to see a large white room. It was bright so my eyes weren't adjusted yet and my ears were ringing. My senses came back to me and I remembered.  
"Constel!" I look around and see Constel unconscious a few feet away from me. I tried to move but my hands were bound. Fortunately, my feet weren't so I scoot my way over to her. "Constel! Constel, wake up!" I tried not to yell, in case someone hears us. I kept calling her name and then she finally responds.  
  
She sits up and slowly opens her eyes. "N...Nova?..." She shakes her head a bit and turns towards me. She gets surprised and then makes a relieved face. "Nova! Y-You're ok."  
  
"Yes, but are you alright, Constel? I don't exactly remember what happened." She hesitates for a moment.  
  
"O-One of the C-Chromozens came out of nowhere and k-knocked you out cold. I-I was then grabbed by two others and, well, that's all I remember... But, where are we?..." We look around, now being able to watch our surroundings.  
  
"I'm not sure but my best guess would be the main tower." Suddenly, a door opens and someone comes through it. It was a face I recognized.   
  
"Well well well. They're awake. The Doctor and his little companion."  
  
I glared at him. "Script Writer...."  
  
He laughs. "Hello again, Doctor. I'm glad you could make it. I see that you're doing well. Oh, and thanks for saving me that other time. I really was in a pinch." He approaches towards us but more preferably, Constel. I get defensive and stepped in front of her.  
  
"Don't you dare lay a finger on her! She has nothing to do with this." We glare at each other and he scoffs at me. He raised his hand and snaps. Suddenly, I feel all my strength leave my body and I collapse on the floor, unable to move my body.   
  
Constel looks at me in a panic. "N-Nova!"  
  
I lift my head and glare at him. "W-What did you do?...."   
  
He kicks me over to the side and glares down at me. "You should know. I just increased the de-colorization and took most of your life force. You were infected, if I recalled correctly." I look at my body and felt the infection spread up to my chest and down to my thighs. Script proceeds to approach Constel and kneels down in front of her. "And you. I really wasn't expecting you to be here. I would've thought the Doctor had left you back in your town." He snaps and the bounds on our hands disappeared. Then he stands back up and paces the room.  
  
"Script....she has nothing to do with this. Leave her out of it." I glare at him and he laughs.  
  
""She has nothing to do with it"? I find that amusing since she is here with you. And you know what's funny, Doctor? The fact that you're so desperate to find your companion, you were practically trembling on your own shoes. Ha! How about I give you a little surprise." He snaps his fingers.  
  
I glare at him. "What do you mean....by that?..." Suddenly the roof opens and the large core from the top of the main tower lowered. At first the light was blinding but what was inside the core was now visible. Script smiled evilly at us and me and Constel both were shocked.  
  
"T-That can't be...." Constel looks like she saw a ghost and looks at me in confusion.  
  
I couldn't believe my eyes either. "....Constel...." Inside the core was Constel, MY Constel. She was weak and probably isn't conscious. I get infuriated. So infuriated, I managed to push myself up from the floor with my arms as support. "...What did...you do to her." He stares at me with a satisfying look and it gets me more angry. "What did you do to her!?" I'm practically yelling at him and Constel approaches behind me, worried.  
  
"N-Nova, calm down." She tries to calm me down but it doesn't seem to be working.   
  
"This is very amusing, Doctor. And look, you're companion's replacement is even worried. Not that it makes a difference anyways. They're both the same people–"  
  
"Shut up! What are you trying to get out of this, Script Writer." I glare at him, and Constel keeps trying to calm me down.  
  
He laughs. "Isn't it obvious. We want dominion over this planet. Me and the Chromozens, which is a nice name by the way, have found a way to control this world. With the help of your companion, Constel, we will soon perfect recreating this world. We will be able to expand our species."  
  
"W-What do I....um....she have to do with this?..." He looks at Constel behind me and smiles.  
  
"Oh, Constel. You see, the Constel behind me has traveled with the Doctor longer than anyone else. And she's explored most of the entire planet and has been influenced by the Tardis. We will use her as a telepathic source, creating this world however we want it to be through her mind and life force." He approaches Constel. I tried to move but my body wouldn't. She backs up, afraid. "Look, in order to capture her completely and use her, we had to get rid of something to prevent her from struggling."  
  
Constel nervously swallows. "A-And...w-what does that have to w-with me?..." Script looks at her straight in the eyes.  
  
"You. We got rid of you from her. Your passionate and determined self is only a part of her we removed. She kept struggling. "Believing" that her precious little Doctor would save her. It was a nuisance. You should know what all of this means, you are smart."  
  
I managed to get up and look at them both. "C-Constel, don't listen to him. It's not true– Agh!"  
  
"N-Nova!" Constel calls out to me and my body wrings in pain. I feel my life ripping away from my body.  
  
"Silence, Doctor. I tell no lies, even to you." I glare at him and his face is expressionless.  
  
"....Is...Is that why you collected so much color?... To use...as a supply source for your creation?..."  
  
"Precisely, Doctor. I will give you props for figuring that out so quickly." Script snaps and the pain in my body slowly subsides. The infection seems to have stopped but is still present. I stand up in front of Constel and stare at Script.  
  
"Why, Script? Why this planet? Why go through all the trouble in recreating this world? Or maybe a more appropriate question is, why erase everyone's memories?" Script looks at me, nervous? I must be getting close to something. "What's the use of erasing memories when you are recreating this world? Oh, unless....you can't." Script holds his breath, which means I am right.   
  
"W-What do you mean, N-Nova?..." Constel asks me, still confused and I smile at her.  
  
"Well, Script can't recreate this world. No matter how much power he has and how many forces he created, it's still too much to recreate an entire planet, let alone even recreating anything. He can only manipulate what's there."  
  
Script scoffs. "Silence, Doctor. You have no proof–"  
  
"Then how come you haven't recreated this world then? You have an entire army at your disposal, a large power supply, and my companion being the source of all of that power. Why–"  
  
"Silence!" He raises his hand in the air and starts closing it. Suddenly, I scream, my body in agonizing pain. I collapse on to my knees clenching my chest.   
  
"N-Nova!" She tries to help me but with my infection she couldn't do anything.  
  
"You're powerless under my command, Doctor! You dare exploit my plans in front of me?! I'll sooner rip your life out in front of both your companions if you continue." He slightly releases his grip, giving me a chance to breathe. "I'll give you a choice, Doctor. I will spare your life, but you must never come across me or my people again. We will continue our dominion and you will not stop us, or else I will kill you. Do we have a deal?"  
  
I glare at him. "....What about Constel?...."  
  
"How cute. Always your companions first... She will stay with us. She is our main source. But I'll make an exception for you. Choose: to take Constel back and leave that Constel with us or to leave Constel with us and begin your new travels with that Constel."   
  
I get angry. I look at Constel and she gets extremely worried and scared. "I cannot make that decision."  
  
"You will have to, or else you'll die. What will it be, Doctor?" His face is expressionless but his eyes are filled with the intent to see me suffer.  
  
"I'd rather die than leave my companions to suffer here with you." Script gave me a pitiful look for a brief moment.  
  
"Then so be it, Doctor. I'll make it slow and agonizing." Script raises his hand again and slowly closes it. My body starts burning in pain again. I fully collapse on the floor and hold on painfully. "In the end, Doctor, you couldn't save anyone and they both will be with me. It's all over for you. And you know what, I'll be sure to make both Constels suffer. Starting with the original." He brings his other hand up and slowly closes it too. Suddenly Constel inside the core starts screaming in pain. Sparks appear from inside the core and she shoots them in various directions.  
  
My face cringes with pain and anger. "....S-Stop! Not– my Constel–" He laughs and the other Constel is practically terrified.   
  
I look at her behind me. "....I'm...I'm sorry, Constel...." She starts to cry and she looks down. Then she wipes her tears away and shakes her head.  
  
"No.... It's...It's not over..." She stands up, trembling, and walks over to Script. Seeing her, he gets curious and stops clenching his hands but doesn't release me. My Constel collapses inside the core, unconscious.  
  
"What's this? Dear Constel, what do you require of me? Certainly you aren't here to fight me."   
  
"Y-Yeah, I want you to r-release Nova." I get puzzled and he gets really curious.  
  
"What makes you think I'd do that?"  
  
"I....I'll stay with you if you do, willingly. I w-won't struggle and....you'd have more power i-if you have me, r-right?..."   
  
"Constel, don't–" Script clenches his hand again and I immediately cringe in pain.  
  
"Silence." He slightly releases and looks at Constel. "Are you sure about this? Do you understand how dangerous the Doctor is if I let him go?"  
  
"Y-Yes, I'm well aware of t-this. Please, l-let him go. Him and his i-infection too. I-I won't ask for a-anything more." She lowers her head in hopes that he would agree. I couldn't move, I was in too much pain. All I could do was watch as Constel gives herself up just to save me.  
  
Script looks at me and then looks back at Constel, smiling. "Deal." He snaps and my body stopped hurting, though there were slight side effects. I could barely move but I looked all over my body. The infection was gone.   
  
I look over to Constel. "Constel, don't. Please please don't–"  
  
"Nova." She interrupts me, looking me in the eyes. "Trust me, please." She looks at Script and he is smiling.  
  
He spreads his arms open. "Now, come, my dear. Come and let me use you for our dominion." She walks up to him and put her arms around his shoulders immediately.  
  
"No...." He looks at her in a bit of confusion. Suddenly, she pulls out my sonic from her pocket and turned the dial to max. He tried to escape but Constel had him in her arms as tightly as she could. "I won't let you!–" She pressed the button and they were both surrounded by massive particles of light.   
  
"N-No! Impossible!" He continued to struggle but the light engulfed them both and it was blinding.  
  
I closed my eyes and hoped for the worst. Immediately the light dispels and they both collapse on the floor. I opened my eyes and see Constel badly burned on the floor.  
  
"C-Constel!" I stand up and immediately ran towards her. I fall on my knees in front of her and hold her up. "Ouch–" My hand gets slightly singed but I still hold on to her. "She's still breathing." I look over to Script but he lays on the floor dead. The rays must've been a direct hit on him. I turn back to Constel and call for her. "Constel Constel! Wake up, please!" At first she doesn't respond but then she slowly opens her eyes.  
  
"....N....Nova...." She says my name and I hold on to her hand tightly. "A...Are you....alright?..."  
  
"Sh sh... Please, don't talk. You're badly injured. I can't believe you....did that... Why did you endanger yourself for me?..." She looks over to the core, staring at Constel, or herself still unconscious.  
  
"She.....She's important to you.... You.....need her...."  
  
"No no, I need you both. You're both important to me...." I clench her tightly, looking down. I couldn't lose her. I didn't want to lose anyone. Not again.  
  
Suddenly, I feel something tap my shoulder. I look up and I couldn't believe my eyes.  
  
"Hello, Doctor." What was staring at me was MY Constel.  
  
"Constel.... How?" I look over at the core and it was empty. How did she?...  
  
She smiles at me. "I....really hate to say it but Script was....the main source for all the Chromozens. Since he's dead they....they stopped moving and all the color they took dispersed in the air. They probably went back to their original places. I also got my color back but....only a portion of it...." I look at her and only her right half was full of color.  
  
"So that means...." I look at the Constel in my arms and realized what was going to happen next. "....You need her to be whole again..."  
  
Constel sadly nods. "Yes but....I'm still telepathically connected to the main core and...." She hesitates.  
  
"I know.... The main core is connected to the manipulated Vynopille and in order to change it back to normal....we have to get rid of it's source.....which is you..."  
  
"It sounds pretty awful if you say it like that..." She laughs a bit but still looked down. "Doctor...you know I have to do this...."  
  
I don't look at her. "There has to be another way.... I'm sure there is...." Constel puts her hand on my back.  
  
"But there isn't, Doctor.... I need to do this...."  
  
"....She's right....Nova...." The Constel in my arms responds and I hold on to her. "If....If I know anything....about myself....it's that....we do this because....we chose to...." She places her hand on my face and smiles. "....Trust us...."  
  
My Constel walks up inside the core and gestures me to bring this Constel over there. I take a deep breath, holding on to Constel for one last time. I stand up and carry her inside the core. Constel carries herself from my arms and as soon as I step out, the core capsule starts to close.  
  
"Thank you, Doctor...." As the door closed shut she mouthed one more sentence to me.  
  
I could barely make out what she said. "Wait, Constel–" Suddenly a flash of light engulfs the room.   
  
I couldn't see anything, it was all too blinding. The ground started shaking and I lose my balance. Closing my eyes, everything falls apart and my ears are ringing. Whatever was happening happened all too quickly.

  
\- - -

  
I abruptly wake up and Constel jumps back, startled. She falls backwards and falls on her rear end. I look at her, just in shock. I look around and noticed I was in the Tardis. I couldn't believe it. Why? How?...  
Constel sits up and looks at me upsettingly. "Doctor, you scared me half to death! I just saw that you were asleep and, well, it was a first. I didn't mean to stare but try and warn me before you suddenly wake up....!"   
  
I immediately went up and hugged her. I held her tightly and she is slightly struggling. "Constel, I can't believe it..."  
  
"D-Doctor, what's wrong? Are you alright?" I release her still holding her by her arms.

"It's really you..." I cup her face in my hands making sure what I'm seeing is real.

She looks at me very concerned. "Seriously, are you ok? We can hold off today's trip if something is really wrong."  
  
"No.... No, It's fine, Constel. Can you tell me though, where exactly are we going?"   
  
She looks at me a bit confused and more concerned. "You said we were heading to a fancy restaurant for a change of atmosphere–"  
  
I stand up abruptly and head towards the console. Not this time. "That's right! Well, change of plans. We're going to just have a nice dinner in Canterlot in the Princess's castle. I'll get permission from her and we're just gonna have a nice relaxing time. Maybe have a guard of two." I press in some coordinates to Canterlot for a few weeks back and stare at the console. Everything's been reset. Constel somehow managed to change history before the event happened. I could't believe it myself. I felt somewhat relieved but anxious. Did she erase them completely? Are they still in France? Should I go back and fix it correctly? I don't-  
  
Constel walks up to me and tugs on my shirt. It got me a bit startled and I look at her. "Doctor, I'm fine with that and all but....are you sure you're feeling alright? You look like you've been through hell and back and you only dozed off for a few minutes...."  
  
I avoid looking at her. "I'm fine, Constel. Just a Timelord thing. A lot of time passes by in our brains then in reality. I tend to think a lot. And this time especially..."  
  
She places her hand on my back and I get startled. "Oh! S-Sorry."  
  
I immediately reply back. "No no, it's fine..."   
  
She rubs my back for a bit then came to a conclusion. "Hey, Doctor. How about we go back to Vynopille and just visit? Maybe I can ask Astro if we could stay over, just to get your mind off things."  
  
"Constel, I'm fine really–"  
  
"How about do it for me? Just this one time, I promise. And we don't need to stay long, just enough at least." She looks at me, nervously waiting for an answer.  
  
I hesitate and stare at her for a moment. I couldn't just refuse her. No matter which timeline or alternate universe, I couldn't. "*sigh* Fine, I'll do it for you." She smiles and breathes a sigh of relief. I set in coordinates for Vynopille and set off.

 

-

  
We arrive in Vynopille and Constel walks towards the door, a bit excited. I stand in front of the Tardis doors and hesitate to open them but only for a moment. I opened the door and look outside. Everything was normal, and I didn't get that weird feeling. I didn't realize but I set set the time to late at night so there weren't many people around.  
  
"It's pretty late out, Doctor. Did you set the wrong time?" Constel looks at me concerned and I shrugged.  
  
"I guess I did. Well, it's for "atmosphere". Come on, let's go." She nods and follows me.   
  
Walking through the town, I look around to see if anything is amiss. Fortunately, things were just as they were before the incident. We pass by the hospital clinic and I stop. I look inside and see Astro at the front desk writing some papers.   
  
Constel looks at where I was looking and smiled. "Hey, it's Astro! Perfect, we can go ask him." She hurriedly walks off to the clinic and I immediately follow behind.  
  
We walk through the front door and Astro notices. "Hey, Constel. Oh, and nice to see you again, Nova. What brings you guys here?" I sigh with relief. Astro is his normal self.  
  
"Hey, Astro! I have a question. Would it be alright if the Doctor and I stayed over tonight?" He looked a bit unsure and looks at me.  
  
"Well..." He looks at Constel and she makes a face one can't really say no to. "*sigh* I'll allow it, but I have Pastel coming over tonight too so don't bother him too much."  
  
"Oh, really? I didn't know. Don't worry, big brother, we'll be in the opposite room from yours." She grins, giving him a look. He get nervous, face slightly blushing.  
  
"D-Don't say things like that, Constel." Suddenly, his phone rings. He pulls it out and looks at the caller id. "Oh, hold on a second." He answers and keeps his back to us. I couldn't tell who he was talking to but he sounded distressed. "What?... Ok, did you... No, just- just stay there... Don't worry, I'll be there quick.... No, you're not. Don't move from your spot, understand?... Ok, I'll see you..." He hangs up and heavily sighs.

"Astro, what happened?" Constel asks in concern.

"It's Pastel. He's at home sick with a fever. That stupid..." He sighs again. "You guys should go first. I need to end my shift early today and take some days off to stay with him." He stands up and slides a card in a slot. He walks up to Constel and pats her head. "I'll be home in a bit. I have to go pick up some food for Pastel at the market. " He leaves first and then we both head out after.  
  
I laugh a bit as we're walking and Constel looks at me. "What's funny, Doctor?"  
  
"Ha, sorry. I'm just....pretty glad to see Astro." She looked a bit confused but was still happy. Good ol' Astro and Color...

  
-

  
We both arrive at Astro's apartment complex and head up to his apartment room. This is the first time I've ever seen the place and Constel seems to know the place pretty well. She grabs a key from her pocket and opens the door. To my surprise, Time Turner and Harmony were there.  
Harmony's face beams with joy as she sees us walk inside. "Constel, Nova, it's so good to see you guys! What brings you both here?"  
  
Constel goes up to her and hugs her. "Good to see you too, Harmony. Me and the Doctor, I mean, Nova here, are staying over for the night." She pulls Harmony over to one side of the room and I'm left with Turner.  
  
Turner looks at me with a bit of concern. "Nova, are you...doing alright?"  
  
I turn to look at him and attempt a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Actually, can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Well, sure, go for it." We both head to the couch and he waits for my question.  
  
"Does the name Chromozen sound familiar to you?" Turner thinks about it.  
  
"No, it doesn't ring a bell. Any reason why you're asking me this, Nova?"  
  
"No no, no particular reason. Just... Agh, it's fine. Good to see you, by the way."  
  
Turner looks at me a bit shocked. "Nova, are you sure you're alright? I mean, this is usually when we would argue with each other whenever we see each other and right now, you're acting fairly different."  
  
"Well, can't a guy have a change of personality once in a while." I sternly look at him then quickly look away. "Sorry. it's nothing, really."  
  
He looks at me very unconvinced. "Knowing you, and me, we both tend to say 'it's nothing'. I'm not going to pry but whatever it is that happened, it must've been pretty bad." We barely look at each other and he continues. "Does Constel know about this?" My silence gave him his answer. Before Turner could say anything, Harmony and Constel comes over towards us.   
  
"Hey, Doctors! Or well, Time Turner and Nova. Why do you guys look so down?" Turner stands up and smiles.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing, Harmony. We we're just 'reminiscing' on our adventures. You know how we are and our past." She pats Harmony on the back and heads for the door. "Come on, Harmony. We've stayed long enough. They can take care of Pastel for us in our stead."  
  
"Ah, really? Well, alright, Turner." She flicks my head and I turn to her, irritated. "Don't be so glum. You've got Constel! I know I do!" She sticks her tongue out as an attempt to cheer me up and follows Turner out the door.   
  
Turner lets her leave first and then he looks at both of us. "Nova, Harmony's right. And, take care of him, Constel." He closes the door and they both leave.  
  
She walks towards me and sits down next to me. "Doctor, what's really wrong? This is not like you at all. I mean, you wouldn't have hesitated if I wanted to go back home. Also, as much as you and Turner try and act friendly, you both usually argue about who's better or something which you guys didn't. And, you wouldn't just re-adjust plans we already made on the spot. Doctor, please tell me."  
  
I hesitate and avoid her gaze. Of course Constel would be worried about me. She was right. "Constel.... Yes, something is wrong but....it's very complicated."  
  
"Well, I'm glad that I'm your companion then. I've seen complicated, Doctor. Was this a time paradox thing?"  
  
"Not exactly. Something bad happened....and in the end everything was reset.... But I'm the only one who remembers." I grip my should instinctively then release it.  
  
She nods, following my words. "Ok, does that include me as well? The ones who forgot?" I nod. "Well, did it have anything to do with me at all? And tell me the truth." I flinch a bit and she notices. Now she's really curious about my answer.  
  
"Yes.... Yes, it did.... And I'd really not like to remember it all again..." She gives me a sympathetic look and puts her hand on my back, rubbing it.  
  
"Doctor... You don't need to tell me exactly what happens. I know you saved me in the end....right?" I hesitated.  
  
"No.... Not exactly.... It may sound weird but....you saved yourself in the end...." She looked a bit shocked and stayed quiet for a while.  
  
"Well.... I....I know you tried your best to save me.... If I were me in that situation....I wouldn't have been able to do anything if you weren't there.....trying. If that makes sense at least?" She looks at me a bit embarrassed and I smile at her.  
  
"It makes perfect sense, Constel. And...you're right. I don't think you would've been able to do anything if I didn't arrive at the scene."  
  
Constel nudges my arm sharply. "Was that a compliment or were you bragging?" She smiles and I nudge her back.  
  
"A compliment, of course. I'd never brag."  
  
"Alright, Doctor. I "believe" you." She says as she air quotes at me, smiling. I laugh a bit as she messes around. "See, that's better. You're smiling."  
  
"Yeah... Thanks, Constel. I never would've thought you'd joke around like that though."  
  
"Well, Harmony teaches me a thing or two sometimes."  
  
"Blimey, that Harmony really influences you. Well, Constel, I like you just the way you are."   
  
She smiles. "Platonically, of course."  
  
"Of course– omph!" Constel suddenly hugs me and it takes me by surprise.  
  
"You can tell me anything whenever you need to."  
  
I pat her in the back and respond. "I know." We both release and smile at each other.   
  
I'm glad I have Constel as my companion. After the Chromozen event, I've gotten a more better understanding of her. And myself as well. I'm the Doctor and one of last Timelords alive, aside from Turner. I'm a mad man always running in my blue box, the beautiful Tardis. I've seen all of time and space and haven't at the same time.   
What I experienced is probably just a portion of what really lies out there. The mystery of it all. That dangerous feeling. It makes me afraid but excited. Despite everything, I'm still the Doctor and I still have my companion. I'll do everything in my power to protect the planet earth and also the ones I hold very dear to me. That is who I am, and who I will always be.   
  
I am the Doctor, and the Doctor is in!  
  
\- END -


End file.
